


A Curse to Last Forever: The Struggle

by LucieClark



Series: A Curse to Last Forever [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Action, Amnesia, Blood, Civil War, Magic, Minor Character Death, Shape Shifters, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-07-29 01:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7665079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucieClark/pseuds/LucieClark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leiale woke up without any memories on a beach along with twenty-six other girls. She could not even recall her real name or what friends or family she may have had. Without her memories, Leiale finds herself wandering, lost in a city full of strange sights. Even though she had a new family, with a mother named Aria and three sisters named Elleth, Atalia and Trinity, she struggles to connect with the world. What's more she finds herself thrown into a decades old war between shifters and normal humans. Will she decide to put in effort and end the war between the two groups or will she watch as they slowly destroy each other and their home?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> This story is in a world of my own creation. It was created specifically for the A Curse to Last Forever (ACTLF) series and every character is an original I created myself. This story is a lot more work than I originally thought but I enjoyed writing it as much as I did The Prologue.
> 
> Enjoy. ;P

The girl woke up on the beach just as the sun began its ascent into the sky. Her head throbbed from the bright light so she had to close her eyes again. Judging from it’s position in the sky it must have still been early morning. There was wet sand beneath her fingers and the ocean could be heard somewhere to her left.

Sitting up, she cautiously opened her eyes again. Her head still hurt but she could ignore the pain now that she was not staring straight at the bright sun. Trees lined the beach to her right and, sure enough, on her left was the ocean. She watched the waves for a moment. Feeling comfort in its familiarity.

There were other girls on the beach though only one was awake. She was glaring at her with her dark eyes. Her long dark hair was full of sand. She could not remember if she had ever met the girl before.

Other girls were starting to wake up. They all seemed confused as if they tried to take in their surroundings. There was a blond haired girl beside her. Her eyes were as blue as the sky as she studied the others.

“Who are you?” Blond-hair asked her.

She tried to think. Tried to remember her name but it was not there. Her mind was empty as if someone came and dug out all her memories.

“I-I don’t know,” she said hesitantly and for the first time feeling how dry her throat was.

“How could you not know?” the girl mocked. A moment later she frowned, “I don’t know who I am either... I guess I have no room to talk.” She laughed hesitantly.

“Smart,” she snorted.

“I don’t remember either,” said another girl. She was holding a hand up to her right eye as if she were trying to hide something.

The girl looked down at her clothing as if what she was wearing might spark some memories. She wore a dark green dress with tridents embroidered around the edges and a dark brown leather bodice over it. A green cloak also hung on her shoulders. Around her neck was a string of leather with a beautiful gemstone hanging from it. At her waist an empty ivory sword sheath with four charms decorating it.

She studied the charms as if they held some secret the she didn’t know about. The first one was a bow and the next one a sheath of arrows. The third was a little sword and the last was a tiny gun but the shape seemed unfamiliar. Nothing came to mind but she felt they were important somehow.

"Hey, what are you girls doing here?!" someone yelled from across the beach. All the girls attention turned to a group of people walking towards them. "This beach is not open to the public."

"Oh sorry," the girl stood up to face the group of adults feeling as if she should be the one to face them.

A woman glared down at her. "Everyone should know that it's too dangerous to be on this side of the forest." She stared up at the woman blankly

"I'm sorry but I don't remember anything like that," she replied hesitantly.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"I don't know...," she shrugged feeling embarrassed.

"Don’t play games with me,” the woman said leaning in closer to study the girl’s face.

She she took a deep breath and tried to explain what she meant, “I woke up on this beach and I can’t remember a thing from before this morning. It’s the same for all of us.” she whispered a little intimidated by the woman leaning in so close.

The woman studied her for a long time. She was afraid that she would take out her gun clearly seen strapped at her waist and start shooting. Her hand waved over her empty sheathe even though nothing was there. Some of the other girls had gathered behind her as if to protect her. Finally, the woman backed up.

“Come with us back to the station,” she said.

The girl tried to look where the woman was pointing but her vision felt hazy. The world was spinning around her but she still managed to stand. She didn’t feel right but she was unsure as to why.

The woman started walking down the beach toward some strange building in the distance. It looked like it was made completely of metal but she could never recall seeing such a strange structure. The other people with the woman spread out among the group to herd them towards the building. They were all too confused to do anything but follow.

When they approached the building, the girl was impressed by its size. She couldn’t recall seeing something so big. Not that she could remember much anyway. Beside the building there was some strange road she had never seen before. It shined in the sunlight and she wondered what kind of carriage used this kind of road.

The group of girls were led into the building and told to stay in one of the rooms. The woman, who had introduced herself as Monica, left to find the doctor. The girls waited in the room anxiously. No one was really able to sit still yet none of them seemed to have the energy to stay standing.

Most had collapsed onto the floor and some of the younger ones were already asleep. The girl found that the room was starting to spin faster and she had to sit down to make it stop. She realized her throat was uncomfortably dry and her stomach was empty. She wondered when was the last time she ate.

The door opened again but the world was fading. She tried to stay conscious and listen to the voices around her but she was too tired. Instead she lay down to sleep. Welcoming the world of darkness that swallowed her.

 

The next time she woke up she was in a strange white room. The bed she lay on was comfortable but it was strange to her as well. As she looked around there were foreign objects she could not even to begin to identify. Only later did she learn what they were.

“Oh you woke up,” said a light fluttery voice above her. The was a woman who was leaning over her bed. She shrank away unsure how to react to her sudden presence. “I’ll go find the doctor. Just wait here.”

The nurse left and she sat up in the bed. She was wearing some flimsy white gown that she found a little too thin for her liking. Her bedding seemed to be just as thin. The clothes she was wearing early were folded up and placed on a nearby chair. The sword sheathe placed on top.

The woman returned with two other people following her. One was Monica and the other was a strange white-coated man she had never seen before. She assumed he was the doctor. The woman stayed at the back of the room while the man approached the bed.

“Hello I’m Dr. Hayle and this is Monica.” the doctor introduced himself and then the woman standing at the back of the room. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” she said hesitantly. Somehow she was unsure if she should trust these people but without her memories she was unsure who she should trust. “Where am I?” she asked.

“The hospital,” the man said. “You were extremely dehydrated and starved. When was the last time you ate?”

She shrugged. Annoyed that she could not remember anything about herself. She stared down to her blankets not wanting to see the faces of anyone else in the room.

“Go get some food for the girl,” the man said shooing the woman who had been there when she woke up out of the room. “Do you remember anything from before the beach?” he asked her. “Maybe your name or your family?”

She wracked her brain for anything she could give them. Any information about herself but there was nothing. There was a giant void where her memories should be. It was unnerving and she hated it.

“There’s nothing,” she told the doctor. “I don’t remember anything.”

The doctor looked back at Monica. “This is the tenth one I’ve interviewed. None of them are shifters and none of them even know who they are,” He told her. “These girls know nothing.”

“And what if they’re memories return and they are on their side?” she huffed. “What will you do then?”

“If they are on their side then the shifters would not leave them in our hands,” he said. “Just wait. Their true identities will be revealed eventually.”

The girl was honestly confused but she didn’t want to ask about it. She had know idea who these shifters were and if she would even be on their side. Not knowing scared her but, from the way Monica glared at her, she was not sure if she wanted to know.

“Shouldn’t you help with the investigation to find these girls parents?” he shooed Monica out of the room just as the nurse reentered with food. “Stop nagging them about what they don’t know.”

They both left her room while the other woman returned and set a plate of food on the table in front of her. The nurse was talking to her all the while but her focus was on the food in front of her. Her stomach growled so loudly she was sure the person in the next room could hear it. She dug in but the food tasted funny to her. Somehow she didn’t think she would have eaten it if she weren’t so hungry.

 

The girls stayed in the hospital for week while the police attempted to search for any information on the girls. Despite all the advertising through media, no new information about them came up. It was odd but without their memories there was little they could do.

Some of the girls had remembered their old names but for those who didn’t they chose new names for themselves. The girl gave herself the name Leiale. She didn’t have much of a reason for choosing it, she just thought it sounded pretty.

The girls tried to talk with each other but since no one remembered who they were there was not much to talk about. That didn’t stop them from visiting each other. Leiale also spent her time talking with the others but she felt awkward around them and found she liked to spend much of her time alone.

That didn’t stop others from visiting her. Nadya, the blond haired girl, and Atalia, who now wore an eyepatch over her eye, came to visit her the most often. She felt very at ease with them and wondered if maybe she had been close to them before.

At the end of that week, the girls were split into groups and given places to stay. Aria Nightingale was to be Leiale’s guardian for the time being. Atalia would be living with her as well along with a feisty little girl named Elleth and an older girl who’s name was Trinity.

“Oh, you poor girls,” Leiale found herself squeezed hug by the overwhelmingly kind woman. “Amnesia of all things. Your parents must be so worried.”

“I guess…” she trailed off. There was a weird feeling in her stomach at the mention of her parents but she was unsure what it was. It was there whenever she tried to think about it but unfortunately she still could not even bring up a glimpse of their faces.

Aria turned to the other three girls and gave them over enthusiastic hugs as well. Elleth returned it gladly but Atalia and Trinity both stiffened a little at her touch. The woman didn’t seem to notice.

She happily led them out of the hospital, talking to them the whole time. Aria told them she was widowed. Her husband had died in an accident years ago but she had always wanted children. She was excited to have the chance to take care of the girls until their families were found. Her bright attitude put Leiale at ease a little.

Months passed and the police were puzzled by their inability to find even a shred about the girls. Stories were published on magazines and newspapers. Reporters were always wanting to do stories on them. Leiale didn’t like all the attention and often hid in her room to stay away from all of it. She began to lose hope thinking she would never find her family, wherever they were. 

As no new information came up their story was forgotten and she was finally able to live in peace. At least as peacefully as she could without any memories.

 

One night, Leiale stared out the window gazing at the thousands of stars in the sky. She sighed. Wondering where she lived before. The stars didn’t seem right to her. Nothing in this world seemed right. The houses, the phones and the televisions. It all felt alien and new to her. She found it odd that one could just flip a switch for light or press a button for heat. 

“How long are you going to stare out that window?” Trinity asked sitting in the armchair across from her.

“I just like to look up at the stars,” Leiale replied smiling to the older girl. “I think they look a little different than what I’m use to.”

“What do you mean?” Trinity asked staring up at the sky as well.

“Well, I can’t seem to find any of the constellations that I normally see.” She remembered the names like Ursa Minor and Orion's Belt but she could not see them in the sky.

“Now that you mention it they do seem odd,” Trinity said thoughtfully.

“What are you girls doing worrying about stars?” Aria said walking into the living room.

“They just seem different.” Leiale said turning her attention towards the young woman.

“I’m sure it’s your imagination.” Aria waved her hand as if to brush away the topic. “Constellations don’t change that quickly. It’s getting late. Shouldn’t you girls be getting ready for bed?”

They didn’t complain much as the woman urged them down to their rooms. The stars were still on her mind as Leiale changed her clothes. She felt that she should know why they seemed so weird but as hard as she tried she could not think of anything. 

That night she dreamed about a different set of stars. Ones where she could name every constellation in the night sky. She was sailing on on a ship that glided silently through the waves and other people were standing around her as if also admiring the twinkling dots in the sky. She could not see any of their faces nor the outlines of the ship but most of her attention was focused on the sky as she wondered why the two sets were so different...


	2. The Wolf

When Leiale woke up, the clock on her bedside table read eight o’clock. Aria had most likely long left for work and all the others must still be asleep. She lay on her back enjoying the silence of the house for a moment. She really loved the moments where everything was still and peaceful.

Unfortunately, she could not stay still for long. Leiale found she was not one to linger in bed once she was awake. She becomes restless and finds she must start with her morning routine. 

First making her bed. Smoothing out her sheets and comforter so that there were absolutely no wrinkles. Then putting her pillows on top. Arranging them so that they looked nice. It always gave her peace of mind knowing that her bed was neat.

Next she would look through her closet for an outfit to wear. Most days she didn’t take long to decide on her clothes. She usually grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt and called it good. Today was not much different. A pair of jeans and a comfortable shirt she wanted to wear. She chose a dark blue shirt with black sequined flowers on the front. It was one of her favorites.

Within a few minutes she changed out of her pajamas and into her clothes. She found the feeling of them oddly comfortable yet unfamiliar. Sometimes she wondered if she had really worn this type of clothing before.

As soon as she finished dressing herself she left her room and went into the bathroom. Her hair was long. Almost down to her waist long but somehow she didn’t mind. She took out her brush and began to carefully brush it out and then braid it to keep it out of her face. Leiale had been thinking about cutting it but somehow it didn’t feel right.

Then she brushed her teeth which took significantly less time than brushing her hair. As she brushed, she could not help but remember what the dentist told her about her teeth when Aria took her there a while ago. He had been been surprised by how deteriorated they were. She hated all the work that had to be done on them and wished that she never had to go there. Unfortunately Aria didn’t agree. Leiale was determined to keep her teeth nice so that she never had to go through that again.

The house was still silent as she left the bathroom and entered the kitchen. She was not hungry for breakfast quite yet but grabbed an apple to snack on for the time being. Then she wandered into the living room and sat in her usual chair by the window. It was a very comfortable spot to read in.

Most of the time she sat here staring out the window. Wondering if this was really the city she grew up in. It’s name was Shrinecrest. It was a city that sat near the Cobalt sea and it was surrounded by dense forests. Around it were large mountains, called the Jaded Mountains which cut it off from the rest of the country.

She had learned that the city did not welcome outsiders and in that regard almost acted as its own country. It did trades with the outside but that was about it. The city itself was surrounded by walls as if it was trying to keep something out. Everyone on the inside was very tense.

Now that she knew more than when she woke up she knew why Monica had been so wary of them. Diamond beach was where they were found. Regular civilians were not usually found hanging around there so of course they would seem suspicious. Leiale often wondered why she had been sleeping on that beach.

“What are you doing there?” Trinity asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She had been thinking so hard she had not noticed the time slipping away. She had already finished her apple but she could barely remember actually eating it. It happened to her often. She would get herself lost in thought without really noticing what was going on in the world around her.

Just like right now. She had been staring out the window seeing but not really seeing what was going on. For some reason she always did this when she was looking outside. It was the easiest way for her to lose herself in her thoughts.

“Just thinking,” Leiale answered vaguely.

Trinity sighed. She knew better than to try to pull a better answer out of her. “Since you’re up you should help us make breakfast,” she said.

“What are we making this morning?” Leiale asked.

“I was in the mood for some egg sandwiches,” she responded, “and if you fry up some bacon we can add that to them as well.”

“Sure,” Leiale muttered.

Atalia was already in the kitchen cooking the eggs. She muttered a quiet morning to Leiale before turning to concentrate on her task. Elleth had pulled a stool up to the counter and she was toasting the bread. She flashed Leiale a bright smiled before sticking a piece of bread in her mouth to eat.

“Don’t eat too much,” Trinity scolded her while also tying the little girl’s hair out of her face, “or else you won’t finish your breakfast.”

“It’s just this one piece,” she mumbled over a mouth full of bread.

Leiale laughed as she opened the fridge and pulled out the bacon. She set the pan up on the stove beside Atalia’s and quickly began to cook them. The girls chatted and teased each other throughout the morning. Trinity made up a fruit salad but somehow it ended up on the floor. Not wanting to waste food, they ate the fruit anyway.

If an outsider looked in they would have seemed like a normal group of sister’s. The oldest girl, Trinity, was always scolding Elleth, the youngest who was scarfing down the food as fast as she could. Leiale and Atalia watched more quietly though sometimes they would add in their own commentary just to annoy either girl.

It was fun but beneath it all they were tense. None of them talked about it but their missing memories bothered them. They all knew it yet no one spoke about it. It was not that they didn’t want to remember, it was that remembering may bring an end to the happiness they had right now. Somehow they knew the happy family they shared could shatter at any moment.

“Leiale shouldn’t you be working on your math homework?” Trinity asked her.

After breakfast she had grabbed her tablet and taken it out to the living room to start reading. Of course Trinity would come over to hound on her about her homework. When Aria was not here she tended to nag the others into doing what she thought they should be doing.

“I’ll do it later,” Leiale mumbled.

She hated thinking about homework in the mornings. That was best saved for the afternoons. Maybe even after dinner, depending on how long she wanted to procrastinate. Needless to say she hated her schoolwork. She found it difficult to sit down and concentrate.

They told her that it was just part of her ADHD. Atalia had the same problem so they both would often procrastinate together. Doing things like going out on walks or messing around in a nearby park. Eventually Aria would have to call them in and make them do their homework while she supervised. Sometimes, when Leiale felt like, it she would start it  
without anyone telling her to.

Trinity glanced back into the kitchen where Atalia was preparing to bake cookies, her form of procrastination. Everyone always enjoyed her sweets so whatever she baked never lasted long. Trinity often scolded her for baking instead of working on her homework but that never changed what Atalia did.

“Fine,” Trinity sighed. It seemed she didn’t want to argue with them today. “Suit yourselves.”

She left the room and Leiale went back to her book but she couldn’t concentrate with school leaning over her head. Still, she did not want to sit in her room to do homework. She sighed and resumed staring out the window. Letting her thoughts drift away.

If she was not careful hours could fly by while she was doing this but today she didn’t mind. The others thought she was weird for doing nothing for so long but somehow it never bored her. If she did become restless she would go out on a walk and think out there. Somehow her thoughts were always running and time would disappear.

Time had no meaning to her. It flew by too fast and barely gave her a chance to breathe. Sometimes she wished that the clock would slow down but it was impossible. Time moved on its own and people had no choice but to move with it.

 

"Leiale!" Aria called down the hallway interrupting her reading. It was that evening and Leiale still had not even touched her homework. She was thinking of doing it before she went to sleep. Maybe. "We’re going to the nautical museum!"

"Coming!" She yelled back, a little irritated that she could not continue with her book and by the fact that she had not heard any plans of going to a museum. She grabbed her jacket and bag to slip her tablet in. Maybe she would have time to read on the way there.

"Let's go," Aria said cheerfully when they all had gathered by the door. The other girls seemed more excited than her to visit the museum. She decided to ride on the wave and go along with everyone.

"Did you know we were taking a trip to the museum today?" Leiale whispered to Trinity as they walked down to the nearest monorail station.

"Apparently she decided it on the way home from work." Trinity whispered back.

"Oh," Leiale understood. Aria often liked to go on random trips to the zoo or aquarium or any other place she could think of. She wanted the girls to "create new memories" just in case they never regained their old ones.

The monorail arrived and they piled into the nearest car. A few of them managed to find empty seats but Trinity and Atalia chose to stay standing. Leiale pulled her tablet out  
again and continued reading her book. From time to time she would look up and stare at the white landscape outside. Snow had been falling all morning and now the sidewalks and roads were buried in it.

It was not long before Aria ushered them off the monorail and outside. Although they all rushed along the sidewalk to get out of the cold as quickly as they could, Leiale found she didn’t mind the cold air. If it was her choice she would have strolled along at a slower pace. She hated to hurry and preferred to take her own time with everything.

"Here it is!" Aria said joyfully as she led the girls inside. Leiale didn’t even have a chance to take in the outside of the building before she was ushered in. 

The woman paid admission for the girls and let them wander. Trinity and Atalia wandered off together while Aria and Elleth both looked at a map to decide where they wanted to go first. Leiale chose a hall at random and wandered down around with little interest on what she was seeing.

The hall began with the most recent battleship that had apparently changed some war or other. She had probably read about it in her history book but it was hard to remember all the facts. Although the displays were only replicas of the real thing they were still quite large. 

As she moved down the hallway the ships became older and older until she began to study the ships more slowly. Leiale found she enjoyed studying the old ships made of wood much better than the new ships made of metal. They fascinated her in a way she could not describe.

Turning around from one model of a pirate ship, Leiale found herself staring into a display case holding many ships in bottles. Slowly she studied each ship noting each name, masthead and flag. She found she loved staring at each ship until one especially caught her attention.

It was a ship that didn't compare to any of the others. The masthead was unique. It was a carving of a wolf with glittering black eyes. The wolf’s fangs and the fur were so well done they could almost be real. She could almost imagine that the wolf breathing! 

The flag was not like any other flag she had seen. The cloth was a shining silver with a pitch black wolf howling up to a moon so bright it almost popped out of the fabric. There was a set of crossbones below the moon and as she studied it even closer she noticed that the shadows on the moon made it look like a skull. She thought the flag was beautiful

Leiale closed her eyes and tried to imagine the inside of the ship. She imagined herself walking through the door and down the stairs. The first door she opened lead to the kitchen. Herbs hung from the ceiling and the dishes were put away neatly so they wouldn’t break. The counters were scrubbed and so was the table in the center.

Behind that was another door that opened into someone's bedroom. She assumed it was the cook’s. There was not much as far as furniture. Just a little cot and small armoire to put things in. There were curtains by the window that showed the vast sea.

She left the kitchen and walked out into the parlor. There she saw a painting. It depicted at least forty people and she wondered if they were the crew of the ship. She could not see their faces but there was a familiarity to them. Her fingers reached out to touch the painting... 

"Hey, Leiale," Trinity called her name snapping her out of her daze. She shook her head, trying to clear it. It almost seemed like she had stepped into the ship but she knew that it was impossible.

"It's time to go. We tried calling you but you didn’t pick up,” Trinity told her.

"Oh, sorry," Leiale took out her phone and sure enough she had about twenty unanswered calls. Most of them from Aria, which was no surprise. The woman worried over nothing.

She took one last glance at the ship reading the name, Lupis Maris. There was something familiar about it but she didn’t have time to think much longer as Trinity dragged her off towards the exit.

"There you are," Aria said squeezing Leiale in a giant bear hug. "Now we just have to wait for Atalia and Elleth to come back.”

Leiale’s mind wandered outside to the empty cold streets. It had become completely dark outside in the little time they spent in the museum. She was not expecting to see anything but her eyes widened when she noticed the wolf looking through the windows at her. It’s fur was made up of black, grays and white with hints of copper in it. They swirled together in a beautiful way that reminded her of the wind.

"Look! There's a wolf outside!" Leiale said.

"Where?" Trinity asked squinting her eyes to see the spot where she was pointing but in the moment she had looked away the wolf had disappeared. "I don't see anything."

"Are you sure you saw a something there?" Aria said worriedly.

"I'm positive I saw it," Leiale replied but even she was beginning to feel unsure. She had only seen it for a moment.

“That must have just been a stray dog.” Aria said though she seemed uneasy and Leiale knew why. The wolf could have been a shifter.

At that moment Atalia and Elleth showed up and they left the museum. Aria wasted no time in ushering them to the monorail station. No one said much until they returned home. Even then all Leiale wanted to do was hide in her room and immerse herself into her book some more. She didn’t really care that much about the wolf but Trinity stopped her.

“Do you think that was a shifter you saw?” she asked her.

Leiale shook her head, “I don’t think so.” She had never met a shifter so she could not say for sure but somehow the wolf didn’t feel like one.

Shifters were humans who could change their forms into animals. They were feared by normal people because it was said that they acted more like wild animals and would often kill others though Leiale doubted the rumor was true. She did know that they were a minority among the human population.

Shifters are born randomly among the humans. It doesn’t matter who their parents were whether they were normal humans or shifters. It was also impossible to tell if they were a shifter at birth. Their powers don’t usually develop until they were at least ten years old. Sometimes it happened earlier. It was also said that if a person was discovered to be a shifter then they were shipped off somewhere but no one seemed to know for sure.

“I didn’t see any silver fur at least,” she said after thinking for a moment.

"It could have never been exposed to moonshine before," Atalia suggested.

Once a shifters powers had been developed there is a chemical that reveals the silver in the shifted appearance. Their hair, fur, feathers or whatever will have streaks of silver in them. In their human form they will have silver streaks in their hair as well but their eyes and nails will also have silver flecks in them. After a day or so it will fade away from their human form but in their animal form the silver stays.

Leiale shrugged again feeling uncomfortable. "I don’t think that was it," she said.

"Don't they say that the silver in their fur came from the moonlight brushing the early shifters with its light," Elleth asked not quite catching the seriousness of the conversation.

The earliest shifters were all wolves so of course whenever the moon was out they loved to hunt under its light. Over the years their forms changed. Even though they could only shift into one animal there was a wide variety of animals that it could be. From the original wolf to a tiny mouse.

"Apparently it was because they always kept the moon company that she gave them the silver fur to remind them never to leave her," Atalia butted in. She was greatly into the legends behind the shifters and often explored them in her free time. "That's why the streaks are permanent in their animal form but only show for for a short while in the human form."

"That sounds so pretty," Elleth giggled. "I want silver hair!"

Leiale shuddered at the thought. She hoped she would never have silver hair.

“No you don’t,” Aria scolded. “You girls should not be talking about such topics.”

The girls silenced at the distress in her voice. They had just been standing in the entryway talking so they wandered into the living room so as not to be overheard. They were all tired from the museum but none of them wanted to go to bed yet.

“Are shifters really that bad?” Leiale asked but she only got shrugs in return. Despite that none of them really seemed to be able to picture shifters as the bloodthirsty animals that everyone else did.


	3. The Theives

It was nine o’clock on new year's eve and the party was already bustling. Leiale felt out of place among all the adults. She could tell the other three felt the same way. Even Elleth was not her usual bouncy self. The four girls stayed huddled in a group as Aria introduced them to all her friends and co-workers.

They smiled sweetly and shook hands but they all felt awkward. Everyone here was a complete stranger. Secretly, Leiale wondered if any of these guests had known her from before but no one seemed to recognize her.

She wandered around the party in sort of daze. A few adults stopped and talked to her so she answered their questions politely. There was unease in her heart. A sort of distrust that she could not explain. As if anyone and everyone at this party could be an enemy.

Leiale snuck another one of Atalia’s cookies off the tray and nibbled on it as she went to watch more people enter the house. The doorbell rang again and when Atalia opened the door a family of four walked in. She recognized the two girls from the hospital.

“This is Emilia and Chance Drake,” Aria introduced them, “and I’m certain you have met Nadya and Avery.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Emilia smiled kindly. “We’re sorry Jade could not come. She was feeling a little under the weather today.”

“Oh, that’s horrible,” Aria frowned. “I hope she feels better soon. You should take home a plate of food for her. I’ll prepare it right away.”

“Thank you,” Emilia said. The adults wandered further into the party and disappeared from view.

All the girls had relaxed a little when they finally saw familiar faces. They gathered together in a group to catch up with each other. Avery, Elleth and Trinity got along on the spot, despite their age differences. Leiale, Atalia and Nadya found themselves talking together as they did back at the hospital.

“Have either of you recovered any of your missing memories?” Nadya asked but the two girls shook their heads.

“Not a thing,” Leiale told her.

“Same here,” she sighed. “You think we would remember something or that something would be familiar but everywhere I look I can’t help but admire it because it all seems so new.”

“It’s unsettling,” Atalia said. “I have a feeling that as long as we stay here we will never remember.”

“You might be right,” Leiale agreed. They had walked over to the food and filled up their plates. She began slowly nibbling through her fruit.

“If I don’t remember anything by the time I’m an adult,” Nadya began, “then I’m leaving this city and traveling across the world. Maybe then I will find out something more about myself.”

Leiale thought about what the girl said while she swallowed her food. “Sometimes I wonder if I really came from around here,” she muttered. “Nothing feels right. We could have been part of some boat accident and stranded on that beach or something.”

“True,” Atalia muttered.

“I would say you’re right,” Nadya said, “but the whole situation is too odd. There were twenty-seven girls lying unconscious on the beach and not a single one of us could remember where we came from. It sounds suspicious.”

Leiale couldn’t help but find sense in Nadya’s reasoning. “It sounds more like we were dumped there,” Atalia said.

“But who would do it?” Leiale asked. “Why erase our memories?”

Nadya shook her head. “I wish I knew.”

“When you go traveling,” Leiale said, “take me with you.”

“You both can come with me,” Nadya reassured them.

They spent awhile talking until Nadya excused herself to go to the bathroom. Atalia and Leiale went their own ways wandering aimlessly through the party again. At one point she went back to her room to hide from all the crowds. She turned on her tablet and opened her book, hoping to escape from the noise for a little while.

Unfortunately, it was not so. She barely read a word before she heard a dog barking outside. Out of curiosity she peeked out her window to see who it was. She saw a familiar blond girl trying to make her way down the street. 

A dog stood right in her way barking loud enough to be heard over the parties. She wondered why no one else was looking to see what all the commotion was. The dog was in shadow so she could not see it very well but she opened her window and called out to the girl.

“What are you doing out here, Nadya!?” she called. “It’s cold!”

“It’s none of your business!” the girl called back before cursing at the dog again.

Leiale was too curious to stay still so she said, “But now I want to know even more!” 

She hurriedly changed her shirt, it was a little flashy and thin for outside, and pulled on her shoes and a jacket. It was only seconds later before she was leaping out of her window and closing it behind her. The dog immediately stopped barking and ran over to her. When it got closer she noticed, a little nervously, that it was a wolf. Not a dog.

“She seems to like you,” Nadya said when she noticed the dog’s wagging tail.

“I’ve seen her before,” Leiale said more to herself. “She’s not a shifter though.”

“Where did you see her?” Nadya asked her curiously.

“Back at the museum,” she said. “I was standing at the entrance waiting to leave and I saw her looking through the doors. I think she was watching me.”

“Museum?”

“I think Aria called it The Nautical Museum… Maybe… There was this ship called the Lupis Maris in there. It was so pretty.” Leiale surprised even herself by her own words. It had been a while since she had so much interest in something but that little ship had caught her attention.

"So you saw this wolf at the the museum?" Nadya asked.

"Yep," Leiale replied scratching the wolf behind its ears. "Where are you going on a night like tonight?" 

Now that they were face to face she could see that Nadya had switched her party clothes out for an all black outfit. Her pants, shirt, gloves and beanie were now all black so she blended better with the darkness. She also had a small bag slung across her shoulder.

"Nowhere," Nadya said quickly.

"You're going somewhere," Leiale said curious. For some reason instinct told her not to stop the girl so instead she said "Can I come too?"

"No definitely not." Nadya crossed her arms sternly.

"But why not?" 

"Because you would probably just get scared and back out at the last second." So it was not because Nadya did not want her along but maybe because she was going to do something dangerous. Leiale didn’t know why but she wanted in.

"No I wouldn't."

"Yes you would. Now stay here so you don't get hurt." Nadya yelled before marching down the street.

"I'm following you," Leiale said walking after the stubborn girl. The wolf stayed at her heels as she trailed after Nadya.

"Go back to the party!" Nadya yelled without turning around.

"No!" Leiale replied stubbornly. 

Nadya sighed but she didn't say anything more as Leiale continued to follow her. The cold night air stung the girl’s cheeks. She was glad she brought a coat and Nadya kept up a quick pace that kept her from turning to ice. The wolf padded alongside them happily and Leiale wondered why she stayed with them. 

She followed Nadya onto the monorail. They waited in a comfortable silence together. Leiale didn’t ask where they were going. She figured she would find out soon enough. There were a few others on the car which made talking a little awkward anyway.

When they arrived at their destination, Leiale followed Nadya off the train. The wolf was always right behind them and no one ever tried to stop her from walking onto the monorail. Maybe they thought she was their dog.

When they arrived at their destination Leiale finally had a good look at the building. The title was literally The Nautical Museum, which she thought was a little lame. There was a little steamship on either side of the words. The front of the brick building seemed to glare down at them in the dark street. Few lights could be seen on inside.

"You're going to steal it aren't you?" she asked.

"Steal what?" Nadya quizzed Leiale.

"That ship, the Lupis Maris," she said.

“So what if I am?" the girl questioned defensively.

“Then I will help you,” she said sure the girl must have some sort of plan to get in.

“You will?” she looked shocked.

“Yes, I will.”

Nadya looked at her skeptically but she led the way around the building and to a side door. Nadya pulled some tools out of her backpack and began to pick at the lock. Leiale kept an eye out in case anyone came but the streets were empty and no one happened to walk by.

It took a while but Nadya eventually opened the door and said, "We’re in."

“Wait,” Leiale put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “What about the security system?”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I have a friend at home working on it.”

Leiale remembered the girl that Emilia mentioned at the party. Somehow she had a feeling that Jade was not truly sick. 

“Alright,” she said hesitantly but followed the girl into the building anyway.

The door led into one of the numerous hallways. Nadya immediately started hurrying down to the left and Leiale had no choice but to run to catch up. The wolf padded silently beside them. It seemed she understood the seriousness of their missions and was keeping quiet.

They walked by many ships that had bored her in the day time but actually held her interest at night. They looked more like ghost ships where the undead crew could pop up at any moment and begin their work again. She wondered how many people died in the wars where those ships were used and how many hopes were broken because of them.

"Here it is," Nadya finally stopped in front of a large glass case her eyes locked on one ship.

"I feel like I've seen it before," Leiale whispered realizing the feeling she had when she first saw it. “At least before I lost my memories.”

"I feel the same,” Nadya said.

The girls didn’t say it but they were both thinking the same thing. That the ship must hold some key to their missing selves. A part of their memories that they wanted so badly. She hated the uneasiness that came with not remembering who she was.

"Well let's get going before the guards come," Nadya finally said breaking the silence.

She pulled the lockpicks out of her backpack and began working on the lock to open the case. Leiale paced up and down the hallway keeping a lookout for guards. For a museum the security was pretty lax if two amateurs could break in and steal a ship so easily. Maybe no one expected anyone to really want a ship. Almost everything here was too big to steal anyway.

“The security does not seem very tight here,” Leiale commented, voicing her thoughts.

“Yeah well I doubt they really expect someone to come in and steal a ship.” Nadya giggled. “They’ll be surprised when they find that one is missing.”

She slid open the glass door open and lifted the Lupis Maris from its spot in the case. She handed the ship to Leiale so she could close the case again but left it unlocked. Nadya carefully placed the ship in her backpack.

“Are you ready?” she asked and Leiale gave her a silent nod.

The two girls and wolf moved quickly back towards the door just as a security guard had rounded the corner to monitor that hallway. Luckily he didn’t see them or else they would be in serious trouble. They carefully picked their way through the halls until they finally exited back out the side door. Both girls let out a deep sigh when they finally left the building.

The elation they felt as they walked away was hard to keep hidden. They kept grinning at each other but then have to try to pull up a mask of indifference. It was not as hard as Leiale thought it would be but it was still pretty difficult. Both girls walked as quickly as they could back to the monorail station without making it look like they were in a hurry.

The wolf separated from them just before the entered to monorail. She ran off into the night barking as if she had found something interesting to chase. The girls let her go, not really sure what to think of the wolf.

“Here,” Nadya was handing her bag to Leiale. “I think you should keep the Lupis Maris.”

“Why?” Leiale asked surprised.

“Because you have that nice girl aura,” she said. “I doubt anyone would suspect you of stealing the ship.”

“Thanks,” she muttered not sure if it was a compliment or not but she decided not to argue.

It was thirty minutes to midnight when they finally left the monorail. Most people were still up partying but the streets themselves were quiet. Leiale looked in some of the windows as she walked by. She saw friends and families laughing and talking together but somehow she felt she would not ever be able to share their joy. 

“What are you thinking about?” Nadya asked softly when she noticed Leiale staring through the windows.

“I was just thinking…” Leiale began. She turned towards Nadya. “We are missing a lot without our memories. Not knowing who our true family is or where they are in the world.”

“I’m always wondering what life was like with my real family,” Nadya agreed. “My parents now are fine but I really want to know who my real parents are. I want to know if they truly miss me.”

Leiale didn’t respond but she felt the same way. Somehow she felt forgotten. As if maybe her family was out there but did not want her back.


	4. Shifters

Suddenly Nadya shoved Leiale into the overgrown hedge of the nearby house. It was so sudden that she had not been able to break her fall properly so she had scratches all over her arm. She was about to stand back up and complain but then she heard the siren. Remembering that she was the one who had their stolen treasure she decided it was better not to move and stayed quiet. 

Through the branches of the bushes around her she watched as a police car stopped in front of Nadya. A man got out of the car and walked over to the girl. His eyes were cold and Leiale was amazed that Nadya didn’t flinch away from him.

“What are you doing out here so late?” he asked.

Nadya crossed her arms and glared at him. “I found the party suffocating,” she said. “Is there anything wrong with getting some fresh air?”

“Isn’t it a little late for a walk?” the officer asked. 

Indeed it was almost midnight. At this point everyone else was in their homes waiting for the new year. Even the few people Leiale had noticed on the monorail must already be home. At this time everyone was waiting for midnight to pass so they may celebrate the new year.

The officer studied Nadya for a while. Leiale figured he was trying to judge whether or not the girl was telling the truth.  
Nadya hesitated for only a moment before opening her mouth to speak but before she could say a word another police car pulled up. A woman jumped out and ran right up to the first officer.

“There’s been a break in at the museum,” she told the other officer. “Everyone has been called to investigate why haven’t you answered your radio?”

“It broke,” the other officer laughed a little awkwardly. The stern mask broke in an instant. The man who spoke to Nadya and the man who spoke to his fellow officer almost seemed like two different people.

“Again!” the woman sighed and put a hand to her farehead. “We don’t have time for this. Hurry up and test her so we can leave.”

“Fine.”

The man pulled a spray bottle out of his car and aimed it at Nadya. Panic showed on the girl’s face. She took a step back as if to run away but it seemed she was too slow. The spray shined oddly silver in the the faint light as it cascaded down on her friend. Leiale had not seen it before but she knew what that spray was. Moonshine.

As soon as the droplets descended on Nadya streaks in her hair turned silver. It did not stand out so much in her blonde hair but just enough that Leiale could see even through the hedge. She could not see Nadya’s nails or her eyes but she was positive they would have silver flakes in them.

“She’s a shifter!” the man exclaimed. From his expression, Leiale could guess that he was not expecting that. She wondered just how many shifters they actually caught wandering the streets.

“She must be the thief,” the woman said reaching over to grab Nadya.

Before the officer could touch her Nadya turned and ran down the street. The man started to follow her while the woman said something into her radio before pursuing in her car. 

After running a few blocks down Nadya noticed the officers were gaining on her. She changed form and Leiale watched through the bushes in amazement. Where there was once a girl was now a griffin flying away into the sky. The officer cursed and grabbed out a gun to begin shooting.

At the same time more police sirens could be heard in the distance. The people partying in the house behind her started looking out the window. Leiale didn’t have the time to sit in shock and wait for someone to notice her.

She jumped out of the bushes and dashed out onto the sidewalk to run the last stretch home. Luckily, no more police came by to stop her. She made it back to her window and crawled inside her room.

Before heading back into the party, Leiale threw the bag deep in her closet. She changed back into her party clothes and brushed her hair out to at least make it look like she had never left.

It was just after midnight by the time she returned to the party. From what she could tell no one had noticed her leave or her return. She scanned the crowd searching for Avery knowing she had to tell someone about Nadya.

It was not long before she found Avery sitting in a chair beside the window. Surprisingly, she was alone. Leiale walked up to sit in the chair beside her.

“I’m surprised that my sister’s aren’t around bothering you,” Leiale said.

“They’re no bother,” Avery smiled. “They went to help Aria bring out more food. Though I don’t think we need anymore.” She looked at the table which was still overflowing with party snacks. “Where have you been?” she suddenly asked.

Her disappearance had not gone as unnoticed as she thought. She was going to have to think up an excuse later.

“I went out to run an errand with Nadya,” she said.

Avery’s eyes widened for a moment but then her face quickly relaxed so no one else noticed. “She didn’t force you to go did she?”

“No,” Leiale laughed a little. “It was just the opposite.”

“Where is she?” Avery asked looking around the party.

“About that…” Leiale explained as quickly as she could without letting any of the other party members hear. Avery’s expression changed to one of deep concern as she listened.

“Leave the rest to me,” was all the girl said when she finished. The girl stood up from her chair and disappeared into the crowd.

Unfortunately, Leiale knew exactly what she met by her words. Her job was done here. At this point it was up to Avery to help out Nadya. It was not that she didn’t want to help but she had the feeling from the two girls that there was something else that she was not a part of. It was not her job to interfere.

Not much later the Drake family left the party to return home to their sick daughter. In other words, to rescue Nadya if she had not been able to escape from the police. When Aria asked about their missing daughter they had made some excuses saying that she had headed home early. No one questioned them much as they left.

The next day, Leiale tried contacting Avery to ask her what happened but she did not receive a response. Over the next month she tried again and again but Avery was silent. Worry ate at her but she could not do more than sit and wait.

 

Leiale sighed as she checked her messages for the hundredth time. It had been months since the incident yet she still had no word from Avery. She could only hope that they were all doing fine and that Nadya was safe.

The monorail stopped at her station and she pushed her way out along with the rest of the crowd, holding a bag of groceries in her hand. Aria had asked her to go out and buy some more food before dinner. She did it grudgingly.

Shoving her phone in her bag, she looked up at the others who had walked off ahead of her. There were adults heading home from work. Most were immersed on their phones. Talking texting or whatever else people did. She was not sure.

Students were also leaving the monorail. Guys shoved each other around, acting like doofuses and generally annoying the other people around them. Girls huddled in groups, talking amongst each other as if they shared a big secret.

Most left the station and hurried home. The sun was setting and few people liked being out when it was dark. Leiale didn’t mind. She walked more slowly, enjoying the cool fresh air on her face. She could tell it was going to be a clear night. Perfect for stargazing.

A few blocks from the house, she met up with Trinity. The sun was down by then but the night had never bothered either of them. Only Aria fussed whenever they went out late at night.

“Trinity!” Leiale called out. Trinity smiled as she approached but then her eyes widened with shock.

“Leiale,” she gasped. “Your hair!”

“What-,” she tried to speak but Trinity ran up to her and shoved her hood over her head.

The girl didn’t say anything as she grabbed Leiale’s arm and began running towards the house. It took all of her concentration not to trip over her feet and face plant in the middle of the sidewalk. The grocery bag was still held tightly in her hand.

They reached the house in no time at all. Trinity opened the door and forcefully pushed Leiale inside. Of course she tripped in the entryway and ended up falling, scattering the groceries all over the floor.

Trinity closed the door behind them and stood with her hands on her knees, panting. Leiale didn’t move from her spot on the floor as she attempted to catch her breath as well. Elleth, who had been passing by the door when they entered stared at them open-mouthed.

“What’s with all the commotion?” Aria appeared from the kitchen, carrying a chopping knife.

Leiale shrugged as she picked up the scattered groceries. That’s when she noticed. Her nails had silver flakes in them. The faint glow could barely be seen under the entryway lights.

All at once she forgot about the groceries and ran into the bathroom. Leiale yanked off her hood and studied her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was still in the same tight braid she made that morning, which had made it easy for Trinity to stuff in her hood. Unlike this morning, there were silver streaks within the braid.

Her breath caught in her throat as she struggled with the truth. She wanted to deny the truth that was displayed before her but there was a stronger part that forced her to accept it. That part of her forced her to see the truth even though it was so difficult to accept.

“I’m a shifter,” she whispered to herself.

“Leiale, are you alright?” Aria appeared in the doorway. 

The other girls gathered outside the bathroom to watch but Aria closed the door. Leiale still hadn’t turned away from the mirror. Her mind spun as she tried to collect her thoughts but she was in shock. It was too much. Aria gently turned her away from the mirror and squeezed Leiale in a tight hug.

“You shouldn’t worry too much about it,” she said soothingly. “Being a shifter is not a bad thing. I know plenty of nice shifters who hide from authorities within the city.”

“Hiding?” Leiale asked.

“Yes,” Aria smiled, pushing Leiale away to look her in the eyes. “You don’t think those police are so desperate for nothing, do you?”

Leiale thought back to the night Nadya had been stopped by the police officer. Even though he was calm when he spoke he seemed on edge. No one trusted shifters so it was their job to find the strays and lock them up. The people wouldn’t trust them if they knew that the shifters they were supposed to be keeping in check were roaming free.

“No,” she shook her head.

“I’ll take you to meet them tomorrow,” the woman opened the door of the bathroom.

They joined the other girls in the kitchen who had continued to make dinner. Elleth stood on a stool beside Trinity. They were both watching the spaghetti as it cooked in the pot. The sauce was on the stove beside it and Trinity would occasionally reach over and stir that. Atalia pulled some garlic bread out of the oven. She gave Leiale a small smile.

“Are you okay?” Trinity asked without turning around.

“Besides the fact that you nearly tore off my arm, I think I’ll be fine,” Leiale snapped a little. She didn’t mean to but she was nervous and hated being the center of attention.

Elleth leaped from her stool and gave her a hug. Aria had moved to help Atalia with the bread. Leiale stayed at the entrance to the kitchen hugging the little girl. The uneasiness in her heart faded a little.

“I don’t care what others say,” Elleth said. “You will always be my sister. I’ll fight off anyone who tried to say any different.”

The word sister made her pause. The five of them had been living together in the same house for months. Although no one ever said it, they were as close of a family as any other.

“Thank you,” Leiale said softly, even though she was not sure what that little girl could do against the police if they tried to take her.

Then Elleth stood up on her toes and whispered, “Plus, I think you hair is really pretty.”

It was obvious everyone else had heard what she said but they all pretended not to notice. Leiale smiled and the little girl went back to helping Trinity with the noodles. Aria and Atalia had started to set the table and Leiale went to help them.

There was some tension at the table that night but it quickly evaporated after Elleth knocked her juice onto the floor. For the rest of the night they talked the same way they did every night. No one at that table thought shifters were evil and no one thought Leiale was evil because she was a shifter.

They all wanted to stay the same happy family together but somewhere in the hearts of the girls they knew it would not last forever. Maybe it was from a leftover feeling from their past but somehow they knew that happy families never last. That’s why they wanted to enjoy this single moment to its fullest.


	5. The Hideout

The next day Aria took Leiale into the business district. The other girls wanted to come along as well but Aria told them to stay home and finish cleaning up breakfast. They reluctantly did so but not until after much complaining.

Leiale had never been in the business district much but the sight made her gasp in awe. The buildings were so tall they seemed to touch the sky. The sky seemed higher than normal and almost everyone was dressed up in their best clothes. She found it very suffocating.

Aria led her to one of the smaller buildings compared to the others but it was still very tall. They lobby inside was large to the point that there was almost too much space. There were couches and chairs set up near the entrance. Very few people were using them so they made the place feel empty.

“What is this place?” Leiale asked Aria.

“It’s an office company. Nothing very remarkable,” Aria didn’t even glance at Leiale when she spoke. There was tension in her voice and Leiale decided to keep quiet as they approached the receptionist's desk.

“How may I help you?” the woman flashed them a smile as they approached. 

“I’m here to see Endo Rayner,” Aria said, unaffected by the woman’s smile.

The woman faltered a moment when she recognized Aria. It was obvious they were familiar with each other but Aria did a better job at hiding it. The receptionist paused for a little too long before she gave her answer.

“Rayner is out at the moment,” she told them brightly. “Perhaps you could leave me your number and I will have him call you later?”

“No stalling, Felicity,” Aria sighed. “Endo rarely leaves the building. I’m staying here until you call him up.”

The woman’s smile disappeared and it was obvious she wanted them to do the same. For a moment, it looked like she would call security. Leiale tensed, ready to run but she just gave a deep sigh.

“You should not have come back,” was all she said before picking up the phone.

It was only minutes later they were sitting in chairs across from a middle aged man. His expression was stern and his face sharp. He did not smile when the two entered the office. He glared. His focus directed at Aria. Leiale might as well have not been there.

Dusting the shelves was a girl about Leiale’s age. She gave a small nod towards Leiale when she entered. It took moment for Leiale to recognize her. She was wearing makeup the offset her dark skin just right. Her brown, curly hair was put up in an impossible style. Back at the hospital, Leiale had noticed her because she was very pretty but now that was multiplied with her new look. Along with her suit she looked very professional. Jetta was what she had introduced herself with at the hospital.

Tea had been set out on the table in front of them but Leiale found she didn’t care for the taste. Still she sipped at it while Aria and Rayner exchanged tense greetings. There was obviously some bad blood between the two. It was easy to read in their almost-too-polite smiles.

“So Leiale,” Rayner finally turned his attention to her. “What do you think about shifters?”

It was a broad question and Leiale could think of a thousand answers. She took another sip of her tea to stall. It still didn’t taste that great but she was growing used to it. By the time she had set her cup back down in its saucer she had come up with her answer.

“Shifters are people,” she said evenly. “I don’t see why society must degrade them because they can become animals.” 

“We will take her,” Rayner said as if answering a question Aria had stated earlier. Leiale hadn’t been listening so she couldn’t remember exactly what they had talked about. “We will teach her how to fight and how to defend herself. In two years time, if she chooses, she may join us in the war.”

“Thank you,” Aria sighed. Leiale noticed a little of the tension leave her body.

“You finally came back after five years,” Rayner said. “It would be rude to turn you away.”

Leiale wondered what the meaning was behind his words but decided it was not the place to ask.

“Jetta,” Rayner addressed his assistant. “Take Leiale down and give her a tour of the place. She will also be attending the trainees self-defense class today so make sure she is prepared for that.”

“Yes, sir,” Jetta said. The girl flashed a bright smile as she spoke. Leiale followed her out of the office. Aria stayed behind with Rayner.

Jetta led them down a more deserted hallway that ended at an elevator. She punched the down button and they waited. The girl had pulled out a mirror and was dabbing at lipstick though Leiale didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“Don’t mention that you were one of the girls found on the beach,” Jetta said when she was done. “Unless you want them to hate you.”

“Why not?” Leiale tipped her head trying to figure out if she had done anything wrong but came up empty.

“There was a battle the day we showed up on the beach,” Jetta said just as the elevator doors opened. “They were freeing their shifter allies who had been caught by the humans and placed in the zoo-”

“They put shifters in the zoo?” Leiale interrupted.

Jetta nodded but it was difficult tell if she really cared. She stuck a key card into the slot by the door and the elevator descended.

“To them we are no more than regular animals. They like to put some of the shifters who can become rare animals on display. They have some sort of technology that makes us unable to shift out of our animal form.”

“What does this have to do with us?”

“Some of the shifters seem to think we were meant to be a distraction that day,” Jetta crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “The human’s reinforcements came too quickly. Many died on both sides. In the end the battle was a draw but to the shifters it was a great loss.”

“Some think that we are on the human’s side and somehow aided their efforts but there is no proof. That does not mean they are not suspicious. Just be careful with what you say and do.”

“Sounds fun,” Leiale muttered not so sure she wanted to meet any of the shifters anymore. It sounded like she was going to be as much of an outsider to them as she was to the humans.

The doors opened and they walked out into a large room where many people were relaxing and chatting with each other. No one really noticed the girls enter except for the few people who glared at them as they entered the room.

The lights were dimmer down here but it was enough to see by. There were lots of people, still wearing business attire, moving from room to room. Some were carrying paperwork while others talked casually to each other. In a way, Leiale still felt like she was in an office building like the place above but, judging from the elevator ride, they were now deep underground.

“Up here is where we manage the financial costs and other paperwork that has to do with this facility and the war,” Jetta explained.

This was the most Leiale had ever seen of the war. It was something few people talked about but everyone knew it was happening. The shifters were on one side and humans on the other. Most the battles were fought outside the city but both groups came from the city. Leiale didn’t know much about the war. That was not uncommon. It was difficult to find information on it so most citizens who were not involved lived their lives in relative peace.

They made their way to another elevator. This one took them deeper underground. Jetta showed her the living and recreational floor. There was a surprising number of families living in the base. She showed her the cafeteria, the training rooms and the locker rooms. People stared as they walked around and Leiale did her best to pretend she didn’t notice.

There was a large meeting hall which looked like it took half the floor and an armory that had more guns and weapons than Leiale knew existed. One floor was completely dedicated to the infirmary. From what Leiale saw it had just as much equipment as a normal hospital.

There were less people wearing business suits on the lower floors and more people wearing casual clothing. Some looked weathered and battle worn while others ran around energetically. There were people anywhere from infants just born the other day to grandparents who looked old enough to be in their grave. Few hid their disgust towards Jetta and Leiale wished she could punch every single one in their smug faces. She held back for now.

“Don’t mind them,” Jetta said calmly but she could clearly see her fists clench at her sides. “They’re just bitter.” Leiale nodded in understanding.

“I’m not going to hide who I am,” Leiale decided, thinking about their conversation from earlier. It had been on her mind the whole time and while she wanted to take Jetta’s advice, she did not want to have to hide. Part of her also knew that with her missing memories she would eventually reveal it by accident anyway. “If they want to blame me for something I didn’t do then that’s their problem.”

“Are you sure?” the girl asked but the look on her face must have said everything because she smiled, though it was stiff. “I guess that’s your decision to make.”

They toured the base a little more before Jetta finally lead her back to the training area. “Practice is about to start. Let’s go change.”

At the locker room there was a closet filled with new and unused training clothes. It was all the same black, tight-fitting design. Jetta went back to her locker and pulled out the exact same clothes. They both quickly changed and then headed towards the training room.

There were already many children around their age waiting there. All wearing the same black clothing. On some people it didn’t really seem to fit but for others it was too perfect. Leiale felt a little self-conscious among so many strangers so she chose to stay close to Jetta.

On the far side of the room, two girls and a boy were waiting separate from the other students. Leiale recognized both the girls. It amazed her how those she met at the beach continued to pop up around her. At this point if she was half expecting to meet at least one of them on the moon.

“Morning, Jetta,” the boy greeted them with a smile. “Who’s the knew girl?”

“Good morning, Tran,” Jetta mumbled, she blushed a little when he spoke to her but the boy didn’t seem to notice. On the other hand the girls were trying their hardest not to notice. “This is Leiale. Leiale, this is Tran and I’m sure you already know Essence and Aura.”

Essence looked half asleep as she was leaning against the wall but she roused herself enough to mutter a quick greeting. Leiale remembered her from back at the hospital. Mostly as the girl who never left her bead. She was almost never awake and if it were not for the fact that she shared a room with Atalia, Leiale may not have known that she existed.

“Good morning,” Aura gave her a quick smiled. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You too,” Leiale replied lamely. She still felt uncomfortable among all these new people so she didn’t feel like saying much.

As she looked around it seemed that everyone already knew each other. There were separate groups but they were all only smaller parts of one big group. Only Jetta’s group was alienated from the rest. Leiale guessed that it was because they all suspected the girls from interfering on the shifter’s important mission.

“Good Morning, class!” the teacher entered through the side door and immediately called everyone to attention. There was a mumbled reply but the teacher hardly noticed.

To Leiale’s surprise she recognized the the teacher. Emilia Drake, Nadia’s foster mother. Behind her two other girl’s entered the room. The first one was Avery so she guessed that the other person must be Jade. They silently made their way to the back of the room where Leiale was standing with Jetta’s group. Avery gave Leiale a small wave before she focused on Emilia at the front of the room.

“Today we have a new student joining us,” Emilia began. “This is Leiale Nightingale. She will be attending our classes from now on so please help her out if she has any questions.”

There were a few mumbled replies but no one seemed very excited about the thought. It was easy to tell that everyone already disliked her just because she was with the wrong people. Perhaps they had guessed that she was also one of the hated people found on the beach. Whatever it was, if they didn’t want to talk to her then it did not matter to Leiale.

The class started out simple enough. Everyone gathered into groups and practice a variety of kicks and punches against punching bags. Jetta and the other girls showed her the movements that they had been practicing lately. Tran kept the bag steady most of the time but at one point he did trade with Essence so he could practice.

Emilia would walk around the room and give pointers to improve others posture and technique. Leiale watched her out of the corner of her eyes and tried to apply the woman’s critiques to herself, practicing the punches off to the side before she used them on the bag. The movements felt comfortable but Leiale felt unsure about how well she was actually doing.

“You pick this up very quickly,” Tran commented from behind the punching bag.

“It feels familiar,” Leiale told him. She gave the bag a good punch and was a little surprised when it gave way with a loud “oomph”. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Tran peeked out from behind the bag. “I just didn’t expect such a small girl to be able to punch so hard.” Everyone laughed at his comment.

“That’s very good Leiale,” Emilia complimented her, making Leiale jump. She didn’t realize the woman had been watching. “Have you ever done any martial arts before?”

Leiale only shrugged a little dejectedly. There were so many questions about her past that at this point it was becoming very frustrating.

“Right,” Emilia said awkwardly. She realized her mistake and moved on, addressing the others as well. “All my best students are in this group. You should spread yourselves out and help out some of the beginners when it’s time to spar. Keep up the good work.”

Their teacher walked away but the tense atmosphere around their group stayed. No one seemed too thrilled about the woman’s suggestion and none of them liked being reminded of their amnesia.

The class shifted and everyone partnered up to spar. While the rest of Leiale’s group were paired up with people outside the group, she was allowed to work with Tran since it was her first time in the class.

“I’ll go easy on you,” Tran told her.

“Alright,” Leiale said while she shifted her defensive position. She was still trying to get used to the padded flooring beneath her feet. It was not very thick but the way her feet sunk in was a little odd to her.

“Why don’t you try coming at me first?” Tran suggested when she hesitated. “Use one of the moves that we taught you earlier.”

Leiale looked at the boy. He was at least three inches taller but that didn’t bother her. He was also, obviously stronger and had much more training. It was not because she was unused to fighting people that she hesitated. It just felt too natural.

She gave Tran one last look before aiming a punch to his abdomen. He easily blocked it but Leiale knew that she didn’t try hard enough. Tran followed his block with another punch. Although they had taught her how to block before, Leiale found that her instincts told her to dodge instead.

The irregular movement surprised Tran. His fist didn’t connect with anything so it hung there in open air. She took his moment of surprise and aimed a kick at one of his knees, throwing him off-balance. Leiale didn’t remember much of what happened afterwards. Her body went on autopilot and before she knew it Tran as lying on the floor beneath her.

“Damn,” he said. “Guess I didn’t need to go easy.”

“Sorry,” Leiale said letting him up.

“Sorry?” Tran laughed at her. “There’s no need to say sorry. That was amazing!”

His words echoed throughout the room and that’s when she noticed how quiet it was. Everyone was staring at her. Leiale clasped her hands behind her back and looked at the ground shyly. She knew at that moment how much she truly hated being the center of attention.

All at once the other students started to whisper.

“Scary.”

“So fast.”

“I couldn’t see her movements.”

“Where does she think she can show off like that.”

“She’s just like that blonde demon.”

“Just another one of them.”

Leiale was glad when Emilia spoke up. “Alright class, get back to work. I don’t want to hear you complain until you can fight as well as our knew student.” 

Even after everyone went back to practicing she could still feel their glares on her back. Despite what Jetta had told her, she realize just how bad the prejudice was. Although she did not care whether people liked her or not, she did not like the way everyone glared at her.


	6. The War

“She’s home! She’s home!” Elleth exclaimed as soon as Leiale walked in the front door.

“Yes, I’m back,” Leiale smiled and patted the little girl’s head.

“Welcome back,” Atalia said walking out of the kitchen. She had a whisk in her hand and flour dusted her hair and clothes. The girl always looked liked she had returned from a war with her ingredients after she was done baking.

“Don’t stand in the middle of the entryway,” Trinity pulled her into the living room. “You should come tell us about the shifters.”

Aria had come home hours before her and she was also in the kitchen, putting some homemade bread in the oven. There was a bowl or brownie batter, which Atalia grabbed and continued to whisk. Leiale wanted to ask about the woman’s stiff behavior back at the shifter hideout but decided it was not the time.

“What was it like?” Elleth sat on the edge of her chair in excitement.

“Well…” Leiale dragged out the word making the others wait. “Imagine if someone took a city and built it underground but it also doubled as a military academy. That’s what it felt like.” She described the different floors and the classes that she took that day. She also told them about the people she met and those that already didn’t like her. They asked her loads of questions to which she answered.

As she spoke, she was able to reflect on her time at the shifter hideout. At the time, she had been overwhelmed by all the new sights but now that she had a chance to think it over, something bothered her.

For as long as she had lived here she had heard about the war between the humans and the shifters. It was on the tv yet it was always a side story. People spoke about it but only briefly. No one wanted to acknowledge the war. It was just like the way shifters existed but no one spoke about it. If one was seen, they were quickly taken care of. 

If there really was a war then why did no one speak of it?

Down in the shifter hideout, it was not much different. Even though it was the place where they trained their troops for war. Where was this war being fought? Which side is winning?

There was one person she knew who might be able to answer these questions. Leiale glanced over to Aria who was pouring the muffin batter in a tray and putting that in the oven. The bread was sitting on the counter cooling and, judging by the woman’s facial expression, she decided it was safe to ask the question.

“Why is it that there is a war going on but no one speaks about it?” she asked. Trinity and the others turned their attention to Aria, their curiosity clearly shown on their faces.

“Many people think it’s taboo,” Aria said.

“Why?” Eleth asked.

“It stems from the history of the very war you asked about,” the woman was not as tense when she spoke about the war. Leiale wondered again what it was that Aria didn’t like about the shifters.

“There used to be two towns,” the woman began. “The town of Silvercrest, where humans without any shifter powers lived and the town of Harlond, where the shifters lived. The two towns used to be separate. They knew of each other's existence but they never interacted. No one could remember why.

“One day a merchant from Silvercrest decided to spread his business further where no one dared to go. He packed up his goods and went to the shifter village to attempt a trade. The shifters were wary and unaccepting at first but eventually they warmed up to the merchant. Seeing the profit in such sales, more and more merchants began to travel between the cities, both shifter and non-shifter alike.

“Things were peaceful at first and both cities got along well. Unfortunately, that changed when the mayor of Silvercrest decided to visit Harlond. He was murdered but no one was ever able to find the killer. After that many non-shifter’s were being killed and naturally the shifters were to blame but even after years of this, no one ever found the killer.”  
The room was absolutely silent as they listened to the story. All of the girls watched Aria with undivided attention.

“More and more people began to die in Harlond. Not just those from silvercrest but residents of Harlond as well. Some were killed, others died of illness but many deaths were unexplained. No one knew who to blame so they blamed the city. Everyone abandoned it for Silvercrest but the town was not big enough to take in such a huge influx of people.

“It was not long before war broke out. It tore both towns apart and no one was spared from pain and suffering. Not even the children were spared the horrors of death. Eventually the war ended in a stalemate. Both sides drew up a treaty and began to live in peacefully in silvercrest.

“As time went by shifters became so integrated within society that people soon forgot they were from a different town. In fact, they had forgotten all about Harlond but no one ever entered that part of the forest because rumors of a curse still existed. That and the bitterness left over from all the death caused by both sides.

“Eventually that bitterness evolved into another war but not as explosive as the first. Everyone remembered the destruction that befell the city the first time and no one wanted that to happen again. The walls were built around Silvercrest and the battles were fought in the forest.

“At first people constantly heard news about this war but as years wore on news of the war became less of a highlight and was pushed to the background. As such the nature of the battle changed. Shifters were scorned and became a nuisance to society. They were captured by non-shifter’s and many were killed for no reason at all. 

“The non-shifters almost won. At one point the shifters were almost completely eradicated but shifter’s and non-shifter’s had become so mixed in the city it became impossible to tell the difference anymore. Shifters were popping up in families where they had never existed before. That’s when people realized that shifters and humans were both one and the same but no one wanted to acknowledge it.”

Aria paused in her story. The timer on the oven went off and Atalia went to go check the brownies. When she came back, she brought some buttered bread for everyone. It was still warm and soft so Leiale devoured hers within seconds.

“So good!” Elleth exclaimed.

“You should become a pro chef,” Trinity announced. Aria smiled at them though her expression was pained. Leiale sensed that she was trying to draw courage to tell the next part of the story.

“The shifters no longer had an army. They were at the mercy of the non-shifters. For a long time they were treated as animals, less than animals sometimes. That is until one man, a non-shifter changed everything.” Aria sighed and closed her eyes.

“The man who built the shifter’s side was Endo Rayner. He was a college student back then but he had seen some of the horrors that shifters went through. Despite not being a shifter himself, he wanted to do something and so he worked to earn enough money to build a secret place for the shifters in the city.”

“He was not the only one who wanted to change the city. Many people joined his cause and it was not long before the shifter side of the war was rekindled but no one except for those directly involved cared. At this point the battle is normal part of life. Shifters and non-shifters are not supposed to coexist. They think that’s why Harlond fell.”

“But that’s not what you think?” Trinity asked.

Aria nodded. “I think it was something else. It is definitely suspicious but I believe that shifters are only humans who have a little extra power. There are many people who agree, but there are more who don’t. It is because of the overwhelming odds that the war is not going well. Shifters are beginning to lose hope and are dropping out of the cause. At this rate they may truly go extinct one day.”

Suddenly something clicked in Leiale’s head. The reason why she had felt so uncomfortable in the shifter hideout. The hollowness she had noticed behind everyone’s smiles. The loss of hope.

“You lost hope,” she said, realizing the truth. “So you left. I’m guessing they didn’t like that?”

“My husband was a shifter,” Aria admitted. “He was an active part of the group but he was captured along with many others. I begged Endo to send a rescue mission but he told me they didn’t have the supplies or the time. 

“Months passed and one day a scouting team found his body dumped in the forest. He was deformed beyond recognition. After that I couldn’t bear to stay with Endo anymore. He didn’t lift a finger to save my husband. That was when I noticed. He had already lost hope. I couldn’t forgive a man who lost hope in the war he started so I left the organization completely.”

“If you left like that, then why did you take me there?” Leiale asked.

“It was- still is the only safe place for shifters I know of,” Aria said. “As long as you were safe I was willing to risk coming back.”

 

The next day, Leiale was called to meet Rayner in his office. She hoped that Jetta would be there so she would not have to be alone with the man but she was not in luck. After the story Aria told the night before, she was unsure how to face him. 

“What were your thoughts on our hideout?” Rayner asked her when she entered.

She hesitated, trying collect her thoughts, before giving an answer. “It’s a nice place,” she said but she felt that it was not quite the truth. It was not a lie either. “It’s a place where shifters can grow and learn without fearing for their lives.”

Rayner clasped his hands on the table. “Every shifter has the choice to live in here or out there. We give them the choice of either safety or freedom and, of course, you have that choice. I understand you are currently living with Aria at her place but if you want, you have the choice to move in here.”

Leiale let the words sink in. If she stayed here she would be safe. On the journey to the hideout, she had jumped at the sight of every cop. She felt that everyone she met could see through her and knew what she really was. If she moved in here, she would not have to worry about anyone finding out what she really was.

On the other hand, she would not see her family as often. Nor would she be able to see the sun, the stars or the moon. She would never be able to see the rain either. Down there she would be safe but trapped. It was obvious that if she chose to stay at the hideout she would not be able to leave.

Rayner saw her hesitate so he said, “You do not have to chose now but I’ll let you know that the option is always open.”

“Thank you,” Leiale said. She wanted to leave the office but felt that Rayner had more to say.

Rayner nodded. “If you ever decide to move in here, just give me a call and I will arrange it for you. On another note, have you ever shifted into your other form?” The words he used when asking the question were odd to Leiale. Almost as if he did not want to admit that there was an animal side to all of them.

“No,” Leiale told him. “I have not shifted before.”

“A few of the instructors are holding a class for those who have not shifted yet,” Rayner said. “It starts in twenty minutes. Hurry down there and join the class.”

“Yes, sir,” Leiale said before she hurried out of the office.

 

It took her only ten minutes to change and make her way to the specified training room. She was afraid that she would be too early but there were a few others already waiting. They were all strangers to her so she quietly entered and leaned against one of the far walls. 

A few of the others had started whispering to each other when she entered. Rumors had spread fast but it was not that unexpected. Although the shifter hideout was huge she imagined that not much happened down here. It was understandable that people liked to gossip.

Needless to say she was glad when the instructors finally arrived. One of them was Rayner but the other two were complete strangers to Leiale. Everyone in the room quieted at the sight of their leader. He was the type of person that commanded attention as soon as he entered the room. He was carrying a tray of paper cups which he set on a table at the front of the room.

“We will call you up one by one,” Rayner announced, “and you will take one of these cups and drink it. They are filled with moonshine which will help you shift into your animal from. Once you close your eyes I want you to imagine nature as you see it and that will help you find your other self.”

The room stayed quiet and listened as a man with a clipboard called out the first name. A boy crossed to the front of the room, with an excited grin on his face, and drank the moonshine. For a moment nothing happened. Then his body started to change shape. His clothes melted into fur, his torso lengthened and his legs shrank while changing their shape. In a matter of minutes the boy had transformed into a coyote.

The man began scribbling things on his clipboard while the other person coaxed the boy into changing back into his human form. Rayner only watched from the front of the room, his expression mostly unreadable but Leiale could see the emptiness in his eyes.

Leiale was one of the last to be called up. She walked stiffly to the front of the room aware of everyone’s eyes on her. Her hand shook as she took one of the paper cups and the moonshine shimmered within. The liquid slid easily down her throat as she drank it. Many years afterwards she would try to explain the taste but there was nothing that felt quite right. It was like no substance found anywhere else.

As she closed her eyes, she thought about the forest outside of the city walls. Then the beach where she had first opened her eyes and the sea that had greeted her. To her nature was a mysterious and wild place but it was a place that felt more familiar that the city she lived in.

When Leiale opened her eyes again, she nearly panicked. She was taller than she remembered and her line of sight was not quite right. Her back was heavy and her legs longer than she was used to but it still felt natural in an odd way. What was truly alarming was everyone’s expression as they stared at her. A mixture of shock and awe.

The wall in front of her was one huge mirror and looking back at her was not the petite girl she was used to seeing. Instead, there was a midnight black pegasus with silver streaks in her maine. She stretched out her wings and noticed silver feathers tucked within the black ones. It was beautiful yet at the same time she was afraid. Behind her she saw the other shifters gaze at her with jealousy and hatred.

No one moved and she began to feel uncomfortable with all the attention. Leiale focused on her human form and changed back. It was surprisingly easy. She had watched some of the other shifters struggle before and thought that it would be more difficult. The smoothness of her transition surprised her enough that she was in a daze afterwards.

“Looks like we have another rare creature in our ranks,” Rayner said breaking the silence that had shrouded the room, “and from what I heard she is also an excellent fighter. Keep up the good work.” Although the man praised her, there was no force behind his words. Looking around, no one else seemed to notice.

Behind her the other students began to whisper. If she was not an outsider before she sure was now. Leiale couldn’t hear what they said but from the tone of their voices, she knew that it was not particularly nice.

She moved back to her solitary spot against the wall and the next person was called forward. As the last few people took their turns, Leiale kept her eyes on the floor and tried not to look at the other people in the room.

Finally everyone was dismissed so they shuffled on to their next class. Leiale was to last to leave, making sure she stayed at the back of the crowd, when Rayner called her to stay behind. He waited until the last person had left before he spoke.

“This morning I told you that you could stay here if you like,” he said, “but that was before I realized what type of creature you were. It is more common for shifters to be a doglike animal because of the origins of shifters. After that comes the cats. Other creatures are a little rarer. Mythical creatures are the rarest and only one or two are usually seen per generation if at all.” He paused to allow his words sink in. Leiale shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She wanted to leave right there but she felt trapped by his gaze.

“It is a dangerous world for shifters. Even more so for those like you because these animals do not exist in real life. They would rather capture you and use you for their own greed. I suggest that you think a little more seriously about living here. It would be much safer for you.”

His words were forceful. Leiale could tell he didn’t want to force her to stay but he was putting so much into his voice that almost sounded like an order. She felt trapped. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hardly think over the noise. Living in the shifter hideout would be the safe option but was that really what she wanted?

“I-I will think about it,” she stuttered.

Rayner nodded. “Inform me when you have made a decision.” He dismissed her and Leiale took no time in racing to her next class. If only to leave behind the uncomfortable feeling the man gave her.

She ran into Aura, Essence and Tran in the hall. They had just changed and were heading to class together. They greeted her happily as she fell in step with them but Leiale could not shake the feeling that something was not right. Like there was a thick fog obscuring the road ahead of her.

Leiale was distracted for the rest of the day. Even though she still pummeled her opponents during class, she found that her mind was not completely on the fight. She was glad when the day was finally over and it was time to return home. In the evening she said a hurried goodbye to all her friends and left the building.

Jetta had to stay behind to finish up some work that Rayner had given her but that was fine. Leiale needed some time alone to think. Rayner had been very insistent on her living within the hideout. Even though he had lost hope in the war, he had not stopped trying to protect the shifters. She only wondered how long he could keep going in such a state.

She saw it clearly in her mind. The shifters were only doomed to fail again at this rate. Perhaps they would eventually go extinct. Unless someone stepped in and changed them. The non-shifters didn’t need to always be the winners.

Leiale was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the danger until it was too late. A hand reached out from behind and grabbed her arm. She managed to twist herself out of her captor's grip but more people appeared out of nowhere. Their faces were covered and no one else was on the streets so late at night. 

The girl attacked in every direction, aiming at all the weak points she could reach. She thrust one of her fists up into someone's chin and elbowed another person in the stomach. As she fought, her assailants move to avoid her blows but many of them hit. Soon she found an opening between the bodies and she dove through to escape. 

She would have made it out but someone grabbed her arms again and another person covered her mouth with a sweet smelling cloth. More hands entered the fray to hold her down. Panic surged as she desperately tried to get away but no matter how hard she struggled the hands held her too tightly. The world began to fade. Leiale grew weaker and weaker until she lay limp on the ground. The last thing she saw was the light of the stars far above her.


	7. Imprisoned

The world around Leiale was dark. The floor rocked beneath her but she found it easy to adjust to it’s movement. The sound of waves could be heard from all around and a strong metallic scent filled her nose. She recognized it as the scent of blood, though she had no idea how she knew.

The darkness around her brightened, as if the sun was climbing on the horizon but there was a deep fog that did not lift. As the scene around her continued to brighten, Leiale noticed that she was not the only one there. Other girls stood a distance from her. All their faces shadowed so she could not see who they were but she felt like she should know them. Their names right on the tip of her tongue. She did notice that each girl carried a sword dripping with blood.

She had a sword, too. The tip pointed limply towards the ground. Blood covered her hands as well as the blade. Her heart hammered in her chest, not from fear but excitement. The floor beneath her feet was wooden like the deck of a ship though the wood was not brown. It was red. Unidentifiable bodies were scattered across the deck. Upon closer inspection she noticed that most of them were male.

Leiale tried to move around and figure out where she was but no matter how bright the sky became she could never see very far. There was something here. Something she should know but the fog kept her from seeing what it was.

No matter how much she wandered, Leiale was never able to approach any of the other girls. No matter how fast she ran they always stayed out of reach. Their faces turned away from her and any distinguishing feature blurred beyond recognition. She called out to them but no one seemed to hear. It was as if the mist blurred everything, including sound.

She was well on her way to a panic before another figure appeared. It was the wolf who had followed her around the museum but in the dream she seemed like more than that. A familiarity that derived from more than the few hours that she spent following Leiale around the museum.

“Why don’t you remember me?” It was the wolf who spoke to her but she heard the voice in her head. “Why don’t you remember?” The words were not full of anger or longing. They were flat and unfeeling with only a faint hint of sadness.

Leiale wanted to respond but the fog was clouding her mind as well as her surroundings. Her thoughts were sluggish and her heart heavy with a sadness that she could not explain.

“Who are you?” Leiale finally managed to ask but her tongue felt like it was made of cotton.

“You must remember me first.” The wolf shook her head. Leiale found the motion oddly human for an animal.

Before she could ask anymore questions, the wolf faded away and the darkness thickened around her, absorbing the girls, the bodies and the blood in its unyielding embrace.

 

Leiale slowly regained her consciousness. She was aware of the cold ground beneath her. Around her she could hear people whispering but her head was ringing so she could not make out any words. Slowly she opened her eyes and took in the dim lighting. She blinked at the ceiling in confusion, her brain not comprehending what her eyes saw.  
It only took moments for her to remember what happened on her way home from the hideout. Her heart began to pound and she sat up quickly in a panic, only to have her head swim and force her to wait for her surroundings to stop spinning.

Once everything settled she forced herself to take a look around. She had been lying on cold hard concrete, which explained the stiffness in her joints and the soreness of her muscles. She was inside in a cramped cell that was only one of many.

Out of the mesh from her cell she could see other prisoners in various states of hygiene. Some had obvious been here for a long time. Their clothes were filthy and stained but in the dim light she could not tell what it was. Many prisoners were as thin as twigs. It was obvious they were not being fed enough. Most stared blankly at nothing. They move only when prompted to move. They were already dead. Like ghosts still bound to their bodies. These people made up the majority of the prisoners but not all.

Some were obviously new, just like her. Their clothes, although not perfect, were still fresh and generally clean. Their eyes still carried hope. Their voices clamored in fear and anger. Some even stood up in their cells and insulted the guards patrolling down the long hallway. They didn’t last long before one of the guards would come by and electrocute them with the thin batons they held. After that the prisoners were a little less eager to make themselves heard.

That was a week ago when she first woke up inside this shifter prison. Leiale had been so dazed that she thought it may have been another dream. It was only when Nadya, who was sitting in the cell beside hers, began to talk to her that she awoke to reality. Then she remembered what happened on her way home the night she left the shifters hideout.

The girl was a lot thinner and paler than when Leiale last saw her. Her hair no longer shone the same golden color and it was now severely matted. She wore the same clothes as when Leiale last saw her but now they were ripped and soiled beyond recognition.

Nadya had informed her about where they were but she didn’t go into much detail. This is the shifter prison as the girl told her. Where they send any shifters found to be experimented on. Leiale tried to question her about the prison but Nadya only screwed up her face refused to talk about it any longer.

After a long silence, Nadya finally asked about what happened while she was gone and Leiale filled her in as best she could. She told her how she managed to return home safely with the ship and spoke to Avery. After that, she explained how she found out she herself was a shifter and how Aria had brought her to the hideout. The whole time the girls made sure they kept their voices low so as not to attract the guards attention.

“I knew that Aria had some ties to Reiner by the way Emilia and Chance talked about her,” Nadya had said, “But they never gave me any specifics. Whenever they spoke about Aria they always looked like they just ate something bitter.”

“Well I saw them when I was down in the hideout,” she said. “Avery told me that they moved down there not long after you disappeared.”

Nadya frowned when she said this. “I really wish they didn’t, it’s too stuffy down there and cramped. I really don’t like living underground like that.”

Leiale couldn’t help but to agree. She had not been so keen on staying in the hideout, despite how much Reigner tried to pressure her into staying. Even now that she had encountered the danger, she still was not convinced that it was where she should be.

It was at that point in the conversation when they were interrupted by an overly friendly girl. She wanted to get to know her new cellmate and was too impatient to wait any longer for Leiale and Nadya to stop talking.

Nadya introduced her as Clover, the fox. Despite being inside the prison for a while, her skin was not as pale as others and she had many freckles covering her face and arms. Her hair had once been dyed a bright orange but it was grown out to reveal the brown beneath. She had a pinched face which made her look a bit like a pixie but, as Leiale immediately found out, she was honest to a fault.

Others began to join them as well. A quieter, grumpier girl named Adalina, a heina. She scowled when Nadya introduced her and has not spoken much to Leiale since. With her dark, thick hair and dark skin, along with the girls personality, Leiale could almost see the heina in her. The girl rarely associated with the others but she was always listening in on their conversations and gave snarky comments when she felt like it.

There was a boy named Xavier, a lynx. Leiale had no idea what the animal was so he explained it to her, giving her a warm smile but even as he smiled she could tell he was one of those who was beginning to lose hope. She did notice that sometimes, when the guards weren’t paying them any attention, he would take out a scalpel he had hidden in his clothes and begin to play with it. His dark gray eyes and his black hair only made his already pale skin look even paler.

The last was a girl named Onyx. Leiale recognized her from the hospital. She had been very open about herself and was able to help many of the girls who were struggling to adjust without their memories. Leiale had only spoken to her a few times but she never forgot the girl's company. Nor the head of curly brown hair that gave her a few more inches in height.

It only took a few days for Leiale to become part of their group. During that time she realized that they never said a word about the shifter prison. Despite how terrible it was and how much it hurt. Leiale just assumed it was there way of coping. Or perhaps it was because that even though they never said anything out loud they all knew it in their hearts so there was no need to say anything.

During her stay there Leiale realized that perhaps it was better not to say anything. Indeed there was no way that she hadn’t notice the fact that the guards took many shifters out of their cells every day and returned less to their cells at night. Those that did return looked far worse than they had left. Sometimes almost sickly. Some died only hours later.

She could only speculate what was happening to them at first. Leiale had to admit it bothered her. After much nagging, which was rather unlike her, she finally got Nadya to tell her but only when the others were not listening. The horror of what the girl told her made all the questions she had disappeared from her lips.

They were doing human experimentation. No one seemed to know what they were for or why but, according to Nadya, it was painful. Enough to make a person wish they were dead. Despite saying that, the girl only glared at the guards with a fierce hatred. Leiale thought that the girl only wished that they would drop dead, rather than wishing for death herself.

Nadya was strong to still have so much emotion after being imprisoned for so long. Despite that, Leiale wondered how long that strength would last?

 

All too soon, Leiale’s turn came. One morning the guard opened her cell and she, along with all her cellmates, had instinctively shrank back. The man hardly bothered to glance at the others as he reached toward Leiale and pulled her out. Her first instinct was to struggle against him but she knew she would never win so she allowed him to drag her out.

He took her down the long row of cells and through the double doors at the end. The whole time her heart beat in her chest in terror. The faces of her cellmates when they returned from their experiments flashed in her head. The pain was always clearly written on their faces. The thought drave fear into her heart and Leiale could feel herself begin to sweat. Despite her fear she did not struggle nor did she try to run as they came closer and closer to another set of double doors.

When they opened, Leiale gasped in surprise. She was not sure what she was expecting. Maybe another room just as dirty and dark as her cell. Or maybe a pristine white lab room full of unfamiliar tools. The scene before her betrayed her expectations to the point that she even lost her fear for a moment.

The guard did not lead her into a room but a wide meadow. After so many days in the dark the sun hurt Leiale’s eyes so she could not see anything very clearly. She did notice the shapes of other guards in the meadow and they made her nervous all over again.

Now that she was out in the open, Leiale longed to to shift and fly away from her captors but as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight she realized that it would be impossible. There was a wire fence around the field and wire mesh that extended into a dome above. Enough room to allow her to fly but no room for her to escape.

As they approached a group of guards, there was one man who stood out among them. He was not wearing the usual dark guard clothes. Instead, he had on what looked like riding pants and a blue polo shirt. He was thin but obviously very strong and he stood among the others tall and confidently.

“This is the girl you were talking about?” the man, who was obviously a jock, said. “She doesn’t look very impressive.”

One of the guards grinned. “That what the boss told us and his info is almost always correct.”

“Well get her ready and I’ll see what I can do,” the jock grinned, sending shudders down Leiale’s spine. Her instincts told her to run but the hand clamped on her arm kept her from moving. Even when the guard let go of her, all the others kept her surrounded to keep her from even running to the other end of the meadow.

The guard who dragged her here grabbed her shoulders and turned her so she faced him. “There are two ways we can get this done.” He told her. “You can make this easy or difficult. It’s your choice. No matter what in the end you will listen to us so I suggest you do it sooner rather than later.”

With that, he let go and pushed her away so she stumbled and fell into the grass. She lay there dazed for a moment but the guard was not going to wait for her to recover. He grabbed her arm and quickly yanked her up to her feet.

“Now shift and don’t make me warn you again!” the guard said.

For a moment, Leiale thought about rebelling. She really did not want to have to do what someone else told her to do despite how terrified she was. It only took one look at the guards for that thought to crumble and she did what he asked.

At least she attempted to but Leiale had only ever shifted once so the memory of how to do it was not very strong. Especially as she stood there with the guards watching her. Her mind went involuntarily blank and all she could do was focus on her shaking limbs.

“I guess we must do it this way,” the guard sighed. He took a rectangular device out of his pocket and pressed a few buttons.   
Suddenly, Laiele’s mind exploded with a terrible pain. She collapsed to the ground clutching her head. It felt as if her mind was melting but before she could pass out it stopped. 

She cautiously scrambled back to her feet, aware of all the guards staring at her. Awe was now mixed into the scorn they showed on their faces. She hated all the attention. It only made her more afraid.

It was then that she noticed that she had shifted but she had not done it consciously. They had made her do it. Somehow they figured out a trigger to force shifters to shift to against their will. The thought made Leiale shudder and again she wondered exactly what where the experiments they did here for.

All at once, the guards rushed towards her. She tried to back away but there was nowhere for her to move. Someone slipped a rope around her neck and another one followed. She panicked and tried to rear to throw them off their feet but the men stood strong. That didn’t stop her from trying, even though a small part of her mind told her it was useless.

“There’s no way you’ll calm her down doing that,” the jock said from his spot behind the guards. “Let me through and I’ll calm her down.”

All the guards, except for the ones holding her down, moved away from her so the jock could come through. He moved up to her slowly, talking softly. Leiale could not make out the words but she stopped fighting and watched the man approach, wondering what he was going to do. As he came closer, she could make out his words.

“That’s a good girl,” he muttered. “You will be just fine. There you go. Such a pretty girl you are.” The jock was now close enough to touch her. He reached out a hand and placed it on her nose.

“A very pretty girl you are. There you go. Now stay there. This won't hurt.”

Leiale was still trembling but she did not move away from where she stood. The man had her attention but his words made her cautious.

“Hold her steady,” the jock told the guards holding her down. “I’ll have to work quickly or else she may rear again.”

The man began to talk softly again. For nearly a minute he didn’t do much more than mutter under his breath. Keeping his voice low. Although Leiale had been trying to stay alert she must have lost focus. Before she knew it the man had taken something out from behind his back and slipped it over her face. It took her a few seconds to realize what he did, which was just long enough for the man to secure it the halter on her face before she tried to take it off..

Listening to the man had given Leiale the chance to calm down. She was no longer as terrified as she was before and realized that no amount of rearing or bucking would do her any good. That didn’t mean she was not still scared but she had calmed down enough to think a little more clearly. She was also able to realize that the whole time he was talking to her there had been a slight hint of sarcasm to his voice as if he were mocking her.

“To believe such a scrawny girl could become something so magnificent,” the jock said to one of the guards. He clipped a lead rope onto the halter she was wearing and held it tightly. “Anyone would kill to have someone like her in his possession.”

“If you manage to train her well, she’s yours to use,” one of the guards said. “That is, as long as you agree to our contract.”

“Sure, sure,” the man waved them away. “Now let’s get started. I imagine since she does have some intelligence training her will be a little different than a normal horse. It might even be a little easier.” The man laughed and the guards joined in.

They cautiously removed the ropes from around her neck and quickly backed away. She knew they were expecting her to buck or try to run but she didn’t move. Leiale felt insulted by the man’s words. She hated him. Him and the guards. That hatred drove out most of her fear and she made one very simple decision. To be as uncooperative as she could be.

“Let’s get started,” Jock, as she decided to call him, said before moving cautiously around to her side. He needn’t have been so cautious. She had no intention of moving.

One of the guards was now holding the halter. The rest were on standby, waiting to rush in if they needed to help. Everyone seemed to holding their breath as Jock put his hands on her back and prepared to climb up. Leiale didn’t move as he lifted himself up and settled on her back. He moved quickly and with ease. Once he was seated, she felt him pick up the reigns.

“Perhaps she is a smart girl,” she heard the man say. As she thought, he must have been expecting her to try to unseat him as soon as he was mounted.   
Even though she didn’t move he never relaxed. She could feel how tense he was, even when he signaled for her to start moving. He would have expected her to do something so she decided to do nothing at all. Jock tried again to make her move but she was not listening. Like a child with her hands over her ears when their parents try to speak to them.

Jock lasted for about an hour. He had a lot of patience but so did she. It took a long while for him to become frustrated. He started to flick the reins and kick her sides to make her move but she did not listen. He even tried to make one of the guards lead her forward but she still refused to move and they ended up in a game of tug-of-war. Finally, his patience wore out and he dismounted, calling it a day.

Leiale tried her best not to smile as the guard took her back to her cell but she could not help feeling proud of herself. Today she won but she knew better than to feel too confident. It was not over and the man was bound to devise some strategy to make her abide by his wishes.


	8. The Offer

Almost every other day, Leiale was taken outside to be “tamed”, as she heard the guards call it. Every session always turned into a battle of wills. Neither she nor the jock were ever willing to back down. His goal was to break her will and she did her best to make him give up. Neither of them made it easy for the other.

Some days, Leiale never moved a muscle and nothing that the jock did ever made her move. On other days, she would try to buck and rear the man off her back. Sometimes she succeeded but not very often.

Every session, the jock tried to break her. He knew that she was not like the usual horses he had trained so he tried many methods. Most of which ended in a beating when he became too frustrated. There was not one time where Leiale returned to the cell without some fresh bruises. 

Many times Leiale had almost let the jock have his way but there was something that kept her holding on despite the pain she was in. It was like there was a line she was unable to cross. She had toed it many times but there was an invisible force that kept her from stepping onto the other side. From becoming the animal they wanted her to be.

Eventually, Leiale lost track of how long she had been in the prison. It could have been weeks or maybe even months. There was no way to keep track. It was long enough that she had begun to grow apathetic. Not exactly waiting to die but the hope she held for escaping was slowly diminishing. Everyday, she thought more and more about giving in but she was never able to give up.

It was the return of her memories that kept her holding on. Most of the time her memories came to her in dreams but sometimes during the day she would see something that would bring up a vague memory or feeling. She did not have enough to see who she used to be but it was enough to give her hope that she would someday remember who she was. It was that hope that kept her from completely breaking down in this prison.

As it was she had a lot of free time to sleep. Which meant she dreamed a lot. Most of the time the dreams meant nothing to her, they were either too vague or too generic for her to even remember them when she woke up. Other times they made her question who she really was.

 

One time, she found herself following a man down into the bowels of a ship. Smoke trailed from the man as if he himself were producing it but she knew it was from the pipe stuck in his mouth. His clothes were old fashioned, dirty and worn but that didn’t seem to bother him.

Although she didn’t turn around, Leiale knew there were two other men following them down. Their loud footsteps echoed on the stairwell. She was tense but Leiale knew that it was not just because of the presence of these men. 

It was because of what she had planned. If the plan succeeded then she would be a step closer to her goal. What that was she could not remember.

Finally they reached the cabin and the man opened the for her to enter. He invited her to sit at the desk in the center so she did. The other two men waited outside the door but she knew they would still be listening very intently. Their presence made her nervous but she did her best not to let it show.

“You should know that Blackbeard is not happy that you took his ship,” the man said, after taking the pipe out of his mouth. She remembered that he called himself Smokey.

“That’s what the last captain of the Lupis Maris told me,” she crossed her arms. “I figured he would want to kill us.”

The man gave her a crooked grin, “He doesn’t want to kill you. As long as you’re ship is among his fleet, he won’t mind if the captain is a girl.”

Despite her fear, she seemed to find the situation amusing. “So he just wants us where he could watch us,” she paraphrased. “That’s a little better than what we had before.”

She could see the anger flare in the Smokey’s eyes and knew that she had spoken out of turn but that didn’t stop her. He was silent for a few moments before speaking again.

“If you chose to become part of Blackbeard’s fleet, you can have all the money you could want. With that you can buy the rarest jewelry or the most beautiful dresses. You could have anything in the world.” He was trying to persuade her to come with him peacefully but despite what he said, she was not convinced.

“We don’t need jewelry or dresses.” She stated bluntly. “All we need is each other. As long as we have that, we’re happy.”

“Blackbeard will one day rule the sea,” Smokey continued without realizing how fruitless his attempt was. “He can lead us to glory!”

“I don’t need this glory or to be an underling of the man who destroyed my town.” She decided that she was done talking and stood up from her chair to leave but the two other men blocked her way. “Tell Blackbeard his offer sounds great but I refuse.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Smokey said but he didn’t sound sad at all. “My orders were to take you back whether you wanted to or not.”

The two men moved forward to grab her but she dodged them and moved out of reach. She drew a sword from her waist with her right hand and her left hand pulled a dagger from a hidden pocket in her cloak.

The men tried again to grab her but she proved to be faster and smarter than they were. She blocked with her sword and lashed out with her dagger. She only ever scratched them but that was enough. Though she could not remember why. After that, all she had to do was keep avoiding their blows.

Unfortunately, whatever she was waiting for did not happen on time. The fight was two against one and she did not have enough combat experience to survive. The two men managed to overcome her meager skills. While she was focused on one, the other snuck around to her backside and he shoved his sword into her unprotected shoulder. Leiale gasped in pain and the fear jolted her awake.

She was no longer in the cramped cabin but back in her cell. All the others were fast asleep so she tried to stay quiet to not disturb them. Even as she thought that, her heart hammered loudly in her chest and she had to keep taking deep breaths to calm down. She was shaky and wished there was more space to walk around but she barely had the space to stretch her arms.

Thinking back on the dream, Leiale had no idea who Smokey was or where her dream took place. It was another piece to the puzzle she was trying to put together but there were not enough pieces to even guess what the whole picture was going to be.

It was not just her but Nadya and Onyx were also beginning to remember. The three had tried to compare notes but none of them had enough to go off of to come up with any theories. It was like trying to compare books none of them had ever read. That didn’t stop them from from talking over what they remembered.

Sometimes their dreams were sweet and nostalgic. They were memories of old friends and possibly family but the dreams were always impossibly vague. They would remember a name only to forget it almost immediately. Although the faces were blurry that didn’t stop them from trying to hold on to what little they had.

Unfortunately, most of their dreams were not so peaceful. Many times they would dream of running or fighting for their lives. Their enemies generally remained just as nameless as their friends but it still frightened them. When there was a name the girls had no idea it they meant just because there was never enough for them to draw any conclusions from.

It was rare but the girls did have their memories appear when they were awake. One time, when Nadya was brought back to her cell she swore that she had been imprisoned before. As per usual, she could not remember why or who did it. Just a vague feeling and the image of another prison she held in her head.

The girls found it frustrating to have so many memories returning to them but to still know so little. It was as if the doors holding all the most important information refused to open. It was frustrating but the girls had no chance to find out more about themselves in any other way, even with the little information that they had.

With many of her memories, Leiale found herself wondering if she really was such an innocent girl. She had the sense that many of her worst memories had happened within a rather short span of time. It made her wonder more than ever what exactly had happened and why she often saw so much death.

Sometimes she wondered if it was really worth it remembering who she was or if it would be better to stay ignorant.

 

One morning, Leiale and Nadya were called to meet with the warden. Something that never happened. The shifters barely knew their wardens name. Much less seen him. The fact that they were called up to meet such a mysterious person was very strange and put both girls on edge.

They were dragged out of their cell that morning just like any other day but instead of taking them to their separate destinations, they were both escorted to another floor of the building. 

The difference in the floors was very obvious from the moment the elevator doors opened. The walls were painted white instead of the bare grey stone. The floors were carpeted and there were windows that gave them an impressive view of the mountain where the facility was built. There were more people wearing military uniforms up here than lab coats as well. 

The girls received many curious and questioning looks as they were marched down the hallway but most people generally ignored them. It was enough to let Leiale know that prisoners were not often seen on this floor.

Finally they reached two sturdy wooden doors. The guard who, who was currently gripping Leiale’s arm, reached out to knock with his other hand. Leiale and Nadya glanced at each other apprehensively as they waited to be let in.

“Come in,” a female voice invited them inside.

The guard opened the door and shoved the two girls inside. They were both forcefully seated in two chairs facing a large mahogany desk. The chairs were straight-backed and made Leiale feel very uncomfortable.

One wall of the room was one giant window looking out across the landscape. The other walls of the room were lined decoratively with weapons. There were more types of blades and firearms on the wall than Leiale even knew existed. Some of them she thought she might be able to wield herself. A part of her wanted to take the blades and try to make her escape but she knew that she would never make it out by herself.

The woman sitting behind the desk was studying them intently. Nadya returned the woman’s gaze without hesitation. Leiale couldn’t help but to fidget with her clothes as she returned the stare as well. The woman was slender but toned. She wore a military uniform with many badges pinned on her chest. Her dark hair was pulled up away from her face in a tight bun and she exuded power just by sitting at her desk.

“Leiale Nightingale and Nadya Drake,” the woman greeted them. “I am Vivian Aucoin. The warden here at the shifter prison as well as the commander of the human’s side of the army. I have heard much about you girls and I called you here to enlist your help in ending this war.”

Leiale was taken back by the woman’s words. She had no idea what to expect by when she heard the warden had wanted to meet her. Certainly not something so grand as putting an end to the war. Originally, she had thought that they were finally growing tired of her stubbornness. That perhaps they were going to kill her. Instead, they were offering her and Nadya a chance to leave the putrid cells downstairs. It was far more than she was expecting.

“And why would we help the side that executes our kind?” Nadya unrelentingly stabbed straight through the woman's offer, making the guards beside them stiffen.

“I would rather not side with the ones that only seek to experiment on others,” Leiale agreed. She tried to act confident but her hands were shaking and she was afraid her voice might have been as well.

Aucoin smiled when they spoke. The woman stood up from her chair began to pace the room.

“As you both know, this war has been going on behind the scenes for decades. There have been times where one side or the other would have won but neither the humans or the shifters are willing to admit defeat. For a long time our only enemies have been each other. The natural boundaries of Silvercrest has insured that for many years.”

Leiale had studied enough about geography to know about these natural boundaries. There was a sea to the west that was riddled with coral reefs and treacherous rocks. Unless one knew where they were going they could easily sink their ship. The north, east and west were covered by tall mountains which were by no means easy to cross. Silvercrest was nearly isolated from the rest of the world. Which meant that, despite its rich resources, the city was generally left alone.

“Lately, we have noticed the countries around our borders stirring. Spies have been detected within our cities and foreigners found exploring in the mountains. It is only a matter of time before they have found a way to bring their armies over. With Silvercrest torn apart in this civil war the city would easily fall to our enemies. We need to end this war and unite our people before this happens.”

Aucoin paused to look directly at the two girls. Her piercing stare made Leiale feel the heavy expectations the woman held before she even announced them. “Unfortunately the differences that divide us are wide. This will be no simple task but it must be done soon. That is why I ask for your help to achieve this.”

“What’s in it for us?” Leiale asked her. She was finding that the woman’s words bothered her but she had no idea why.

“Freedom,” Aucoin told them. “We will free you from the experiments and give you a position in our army. After training I can give you the rank of captain and before you know it you will have many soldiers working under you. We will also free your fellow shifters and allow them to join our army as they please.”

“Many of the shifters hardly look like they have the will to live a normal life much less join your army,” Nadya challenged. “You destroyed their will. What will you do for them?”

The woman didn’t even skip a beat before she responded. “I admit, their current state is our fault but we can heal them and give them a new life. If they do not want to join the military they would be welcome back into society.”

Leiale and Nadya glanced at each other but they didn’t say a word. They did not have to speak to know what the other was thinking.

“We are just children and we still have no idea who we are or where we came from,” Nadya pointed out and Leiale nodded along in agreement. “Why do you want us to fight for   
you?”

“There is someone out there who knows who you are,” Aucoin started walked over to the window and gazed outside. “That person told me about girls who, despite their age, were strong enough to fight against very large odds. Although they did not succeed in the end, with proper training they would be very powerful assets. Able to destroy any opponent set before them.”

Leiale wanted to deny what the woman was saying but she knew better. Although she had barely started to recover her memories, she had enough to know that she had not lived a peaceful life. There was no way she would have survived if she had not learned to fight.

It was not just that. It was the way she felt when she sparred against Tran. Even though it was so long ago, she still remembered it clearly. The way her instincts had kicked in and aided her in their sparring session. She hadn’t needed Emilia’s instruction back then. She was already a strong fighter on her own.

“And you’re saying that we can do this?” Nadya asked but Leiale knew that she must have realized her own fighting abilities as well.

Aucoin sighed and gave them a pitying look. “I see,” she said. “So you really have not recovered your memories.”

This time neither Leiale nor Nadya spoke.

“We can help you with that,” the woman continued. She turned away from the window and sat back at her desk. “Here in this building we have the technology to aid with such problems. I cannot guarantee you a full recovery but we can help you retrieve most, if not all, of your memories. After that, we would be more than happy to help you locate your home and your family. Once the fighting is over you will be free to return to your old lives.”

The offer was tempting. There was nothing Leiale wanted more than to know who she was. Vivian Aucoin had not slacked off on her offers. She had put so much on the table that she was confident that they would accept. There was a part of Leiale that wanted to jump up and shake the woman’s hand. To say yes but there was something that held her back.

The woman never said she was going to stop the experiments. She only agreed to free the shifters but would she really free all of them? What about the one’s captured after they made their agreement? And there was one more big problem that Leiale wished she heard but never came out of the woman’s mouth.

“What is your answer?” Aucoin asked she folded her hands on top of the desk as she waited for their reply.

“I’m afraid I cannot accept,” Leiale did not wait for Nadya to speak this time. She wanted to use her own voice.

“And why is that?” Aucoin’s expression tensed slightly. It was obvious she had expected her offers to be enough to sway them to her side but she had underestimated the girls.

It was Nadya who spoke next. “You told us you would free the shifters trapped in those prisons and you promised to heal them. You even told us that they would be allowed to return to the city and live their lives again but we have our reasons for why we cannot accept your proposal.”

“First of all,” Leiale continued, “this society does not accept shifters. Even though we are just as human as you, we are often treated worse than criminals.”

“You never spoke a word about fixing that problem. Whether it is in the city or the prison, many would feel that they are both just the same.”

“You skirted around the problem but refuse to pull out the root.”

“You as the leader of the human side of this war do not accept shifters so you did not even think about trying to turn public opinion of them.”

“And what about the experiments?”

“Are you really planning on freeing all the shifters?”

“Offering to give us our memories back was a nice touch and giving us a position in your army was very nice.”

“But we have no real interest in your army. Not if it still discriminates against shifters and imprisons them without hesitating.”

“Besides, we have already begun to remember our past. We don’t know enough to tell you who we are yet but we will soon.”

“All we need is to be patient, so the bottom line is…”

“...we refuse,” the last two words they said in unison. Before that, Leiale and Nadya had spoken as if they were playing a game of catch. Neither had let up in berating the woman but if she had really wanted to try to put them on equal footing then she should have thought of these first.

The room was absolutely silent for at least a minute. Aucoin’s expression had not changed the whole time as they spoke and even now stared at them without moving. Leiale began to play with her hair nervously, wondering if they went too far. She had been caught in the moment and had not intended to let up at all but now she wished she hadn’t spoken.

“It seems my informant was right,” Aucoin said. “That’s too bad. You could have saved many lives if you followed me. Just remember that when your friends die.”

“It would be your fault that they died,” Nadya spat back.

“Take them away,” Aucoin told the guards. Her voice was now cold and emotionless. “I have no more use for them.”

“Just like I thought,” Nadya whispered as they were escorted out of the room. “She never really cared about our help. She gave up too quickly.”

“That was quite the deal we just refused,” Leiale whispered back.

“To me there was no benefits to the deal she made,” Nadya said bitterly. “Perhaps we could have saved lives if we accepted but there is no way I can trust her.”

“That I would have to agree.”

Leiale thought back to her dream. She had refused that man’s offer as well. Aucoin had done a far better job in trying to win her favor but in the end she had an equal opinion of both people. They were simply not worth her services.


	9. Freedom

The next morning, Clover and Onyx were taken away for the experiments. The rest of the small group of friends were left to wait out the long day in their cells. It was the same morning as every other but it was this morning that Leiale felt anxious. She tried to tell herself that it was nothing but she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

At the end of the day, Leiale was proved correct to be worried. Clover and Onyx never returned. At first, the friends tried to convince themselves that the two girls were kept back in the lab rooms for some reason but days passed and the truth became obvious.

The two girls were dead.

Without them their group descended into a stifling silence. No one cried but all of them were grieving. Clover was usually the one who kept the mood up. She had the energy to keep them talking about happier days and forget about their current living hell. She was the sun shining in their dark prison cell. Onyx often helped her to keep up the cheerful mood as well. It was because of them that even Adalina, often the most negative out of all of them, was still able to hold onto hope.

It had become much more difficult to stay positive. Adalina was the first to begin wearing the empty expression of the other prisoners. She stopped talking and barely ate any food. Leiale was afraid she would wither away to nothing like so many others already had. At first, Xavier and Nadya’s eyes held fierce anger. They wanted revenge on the humans who dared to kill their dear friends. But even that anger began to diminish as time went on. Altogether, they slowly stopped talking to each other. Some days, they barely acknowledged the presence of the others.

Despite it all, Leiale found it impossible to completely give up. She didn’t have the energy to rile the others but in her heart, there was still a small fire burning. Created from annoyance and hatred. She was annoyed with herself for getting captured. She was annoyed that her memories of herself were still blank. She hated herself for being so weak and she hated the humans for their merciless slaughter of the shifters.

As it was, in that tiny cell, she began to plot her revenge. The blank and dreary days gave her perhaps too much time to think and plenty of time to form a plan. She knew it was suicidal but Leiale decided that she was tired of waiting to be saved. If she was not going to be able to escape then she would leave on her own terms.

The next time the guards came for her “taming” session, she let them drag her out of her cell. She walked with them down the hall to the enclosed meadow. Her head held high as she willingly walked into the center. The guards surrounded her like always but by now they had become relaxed in her presence. She had never actually done anything to hurt them so there was no reason for them to be so alert.

Leiale waited until she felt the usual headache that came when they forced her to shift but this time she allowed the pain to pass through her. When she opened her eyes again she was was a pegasus. The guards moved in to halter her but today she was not going to let them.

She gave a out a wild scream and reared up, kicking the two closest guards in the process. Her aim was true and she managed to knock them both out. Before the others could react, Leiale shifted back into a human and stole the guns off the fallen guards. She aimed the first one straight at the jock and shot him. The recoil surprised her but she didn’t stop as she unloaded the gun into the man’s torso.

When the guards tried to catch her, she shifted her aim and shot at them without hesitation. Forcing them to back away. She only managed to take a few down before she ran out of bullets but that was enough. She tossed the gun on the ground and revealed her knife that she had stolen from the guards long before they reached the meadow. Without the guns she became far less of a threat but that didn’t mean she wasn’t dangerous.

“Come catch me if you can,” Leiale taunted but the guards were already coming at her.

She dove toward the closest person and sliced her knife at his throat. She took his gun and shot the rounds at her enemies again. More fell. Many were only injured and unconscious but a few were dead.

After that gun was empty the guards were ready for her. Before she could do any more damage, someone snuck up behind her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the ground. The knife was taken from her grip.

“What should we do with it.” Leiale heard one of the guards inquire. “As long a we have our orders we cannot kill it.”

“Let it sleep for now,” someone else ordered. Leiale squirmed as she tried to break free but to no avail. “I’ll go speak with the warden and see what she wants to do. Though I doubt she would want to keep around one so dangerous.”

A needle pricked her arm and Leiale felt herself growing sleepy. Someone picked her up and carried her away but she was already unconscious before she could see where.

 

When she woke, Leiale was no longer in the meadow. Nor was she inside the cell that she was so used to seeing. Instead she was in another, more solitary room. The floor was dirt and the walls were made of brick. The door on the opposite wall was a giant barrier of metal with a single glass window at the top.

Leiale was sitting against the wall. Her wrists and ankles in shackles with chains that were bolted into the wall. There was another shackle on her neck which she thought was a bit overkill. She tried to stand up but the shackles didn’t give her enough room to move very far.

With nothing else to do she sat back down and went over what had recently happened. She couldn’t help but smile when she thought about her success. The deaths of so many of her enemies felt oddly satisfying. Especially since they had been the ones who tortured her for weeks. 

The door to her cell opened and Leiale was expecting one of the guards coming in to check on her. She certainly did not expect the young girl who daintily walked into the room.

“It’s been a long time,” the girl said.

“It has been a while,” Leiale responded with mock politeness. “Something tells me that it hasn’t been long enough.”

Out of all of the girls found on the beach, the one standing before her was the one she knew the least about. In fact, Leiale may be the only one who really remembered her. The girl had disappeared before they had even been admitted to the hospital. Perhaps even before Monica had found them. 

It had been many months since that day on the beach but looking at the girl now it could have just as easily been years. Back then, the girl before her had been just as dirty and stranded as the rest of them. Now, her dark, curly hair was tied up into a tight bun. She wore a black skirt suit with nice dress shoes that definitely weren’t cheap and there was definitely makeup on her face. She was a long ways away from the ragged child who was abandoned on the beach.

“Nice to see you again, captain,” she smiled but there was no sign of warmth in her face.

“It’s been a while hasn’t it?” Leiale didn’t bother to smile.

“It’s amusing,” the girl laughed. “Seeing you here. Locked away in a dungeon. Very fitting.”

“Is there something you want from me?”

“Just to gloat in front of the once proud captain,” she snickered. “Now she’s just a girl trapped in a human prison used for human experiments. You will never leave this room, you know. Left to rot while I rise above to rule this world. I will become more than you ever were.”

“My name is not captain.” Leiale was not sure why that was what bothered her but something inside her stirred when the girl had named her as such. She was not sure if she liked it or not.

“It is not your name,” the girl agreed, “but you are, or were, the captain. Now you are nothing.”

“I will never be nothing,” Leiale snapped. “I am right here and I am living.”

“You are trapped in a cage that you will never escape,” the girl corrected. “If the others do not agree to join my cause then they will end up in here as well.”

“What cause could someone like you possibly have?”

“Something that you were to foolish and naive to ever undertake.”

The girl turned to leave but Leiale called her back for one last question.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“My name is Vanessa and I am your enemy.”

The door slammed behind her leaving Leiale alone in the dark with her thoughts. The sudden absence of another person made Leiale feel lonely. It was quiet and cold in the small room.

“You always had your memories didn’t you?” Leiale sighed at the realization.

She had seen it in the girl’s eyes. Unlike the rest of them she was not searching. Vanessa knew who she was and yet she choose to keep it a secret. Deliberately keeping the others in the dark. The thought made Leiale jealous. It frustrated her to know so little about herself.

But alone in the dark that frustration soon faded. She saw no one except for the guard that came to give her food and he never said a word to Leiale, no matter how hard she tried. It was only the rotation of food that gave her any semblance of time but even then she easily lost track of how long she had been alone.

Her thoughts often wandered back over to Nadya and her cellmates. She wondered if they were still alive. Leiale couldn’t shake the feeling that the experiments or maybe the warden had decided to kill them off after her stunt. She could easily imagine their cold bodies lying somewhere abandoned out in the forest. The thoughts didn’t help her sorrowful mood and made her feel even lonelier than before.

Leiale also began to wonder if she would be forgotten. Isolated and hidden from the rest of the world. Left to die slowly. The hope she had held onto for so long was finally beginning to diminish. She was beginning to accept the fact that this was the last place she would ever see. The fire that urged her to kill so many guards had finally left her heart.

She believed she would die alone in the cell. The tiny room had made it easy to forget all the people outside the walls. She had forgotten about hope, about escape and even about living so when rescue finally came, she had thought it was nothing more than a cruel dream.

It had felt like an eternity but it must have only been a couple of weeks later when it happened. Leiale was sleeping against the wall the pass the time when she heard shouts coming from beyond her door. They were muffled so she had no idea what was going on, therefore concluding that it had nothing to do with with her. She ignored the noise and curled herself more tightly in a ball and attempted to fall back to sleep but it seemed that whoever it was had come for her.

The door slammed open and footsteps ran over to where she lay. If one of the guards had come to kill her she was not going to fight them. She didn’t bother to open her eyes at first but, unexpectedly, the person grabbed her arm and started fiddling with the shackle. Leiale opened one eye out of curiosity but did not quite comprehend what she saw.

A girl sat before her, attempting to unlock her shackles. Her red hair hung past her shoulders and over her hands but it did not obscure her face from view. The girl smiled when she noticed Leiale watching. Her green eyes sparkling with renewed vitality. She was not as skinny as before but still very recognizable.

“Clover?” Leiale asked. It had been so long since she spoke that her voice came out as little more than a whisper.

“The shifters are here to break everyone out of prison,” the girl sang happily. She made quick work of the shackles and helped her up. “Come on.”

Leiale followed Clover in a daze. It had been so long since she had any real human contact that the sudden appearance of the supposedly dead girl overwhelmed her. She was so out of sync with the world that Clover had to basically drag her to her feet to get her to move. Together they ran out of the cell but Leiale’s mind was still trying to catch up to what was happening.

Out in the hallway two adults joined the girls. They held large machine guns in their hands and wore the uniforms of the shifters. Neither gave much acknowledgement to Leiale but they marched beside her protectively. There were other shifters escorting prisoners away from their cells but Leiale was still too dazed to really comprehend what was happening. That didn’t stop her from instinctively reaching down and stealing a knife and gun from one of the guards on the floor. She felt better with the weapons in hand.

Guards were quickly taken care of by the shifters. They were unorganized and unprepared for such an outside attack. Any prisoners they met along the way were encouraged to follow them out. Many stared with uncomprehending eyes but Clover didn’t give up as she encouraged them to follow.

“It’s a prison break,” Leiale muttered when her mind finally caught up to what she was seeing. She stopped forcing Clover to drag her along and began to run forward by her own will.

The closer they got to their destination, the more crowded the halls became with fleeing prisoners. It was not long before they reached a set of stairs with more of the shifters guarding the door. All the prisoners were urged to head down the stairs and none hesitated to follow their saviors lead.

Leiale allowed herself to be swept away by the crowd and to the stairs. At the bottom, there were three monorails parked and ready for use. She assumed that this was how the humans transported goods and prisoners to their base. Now they had been taken over by the shifters and prisoners were being running into the waiting cars.

Right before she reached the nearest monorail, an explosion blasted through one of the nearby walls. The blast was not big enough to kill many but it was enough to surprise everyone in the room. Leiale herself was thrown off her feet and she hit the floor hard enough to knock her out.

She must not have been out for long but when she woke up there were humans streaming through a gap in the wall. Shifters were running to meet them. Although both sides had guns no one was shooting with them. The space was too tight and it would have been too easy to hit any allies by accident.

Amidst all the chaos, Leiale attempted to stand up and make the last few feet to the monorail but the pain in her side stopped her. The was no blood but it hurt. Gritting her teeth, she prepared for the pain and forced her body to move. Her side didn’t hurt as bad as she originally thought so she was able to make slow but steady progress towards safety.

The train was just within reach when someone unexpectedly grabbed her around the waist and began to pull her away. She gasped from the pain in her side but she didn’t let that stop her. Freedom was right before her eyes and she was determined not to let it be taken away from her again. Leiale pulled out her knife and with great effort twisted her body to mercilessly stab the man’s throat.

They both fell to the floor and Leiale found herself trying to wriggle out from under the man. Once she was on her feet again, she scanned the room. It was a battlefield, with shifters trying their hardest to protect the prisoners and the humans fighting to keep them. Unfortunately the shifters were heavily overwhelmed and were being pushed back. There was simply not enough of them to hold off the human’s.

“Leiale, what are you doing?” Nadya had run from the monorail to meet her. “We need to get on the train!”

“No,” Leiale stared past the girl in a daze. “We’ll never get out of here this way.”

“You’ll never get out if you stand there,” Adalina huffed.

“We need to board the monorail so that they can take us to safety,” Xavier agreed.

“No,” Leiale repeated. “I must fight or we’ll never leave.”

Adalina and Xavier tried to protest but Nadya seemed to understand. “We were overwhelmed too weren’t we?”

She didn’t need to say it but Leiale knew the girl saw the same thing. A battle that was unwinnable. They’re comrades dying and yet they were unable to help. An island. Once a beautiful resort but now a bloodstained battlefield.

“Who’s island was it again?” Leiale barely registered the fact that she spoke out loud. She didn’t stop to reflect on her incomplete memory. The battle before her was more important.

More of the humans were running towards them. Intent on either capturing them or killing them. Leiale brandished her knife and to meet her enemies. To her surprise, she was not alone. There was a griffin running beside her and then overtaking her to tackle the first enemy. Leiale came up right behind to deal the finishing blow.

Nadya shifted back into human form to steal the knife and the gun from the body below her. Together they took down the next two opponents. Leiale didn’t think as she moved. She acted on instinct. Dodging her attackers and then taking them down as soon as she found an opening.

As the battle progressed, Leiale noticed the other prisoners joining the fight. Tipping the balance in favor of the shifters. It was not long before the humans were forced to retreat from the room, allowing all the shifters to run back to the monorail. Leiale was one of the last to move.. Her instinct told to cover their backs so they could retreat first.

Only when almost every prisoner had boarded did retreat. She turned to run towards the nearest car but as she did, a lone figure standing by the stairs caught her eye. One final gunshot echoed through the room. Pain blossomed from Leiale’s shoulder and she stumbled.

“Leiale!” Nadya and Clover screamed unison. They had stopped running towards the monorail when they heard the gunshot. In an instant Xavier was at her side supporting her so she didn’t fall. Nadya aimed a gun at the girl but she had already turned to run back up the stairs.

Xavier picked Leiale up in his arms so he could carry her back to safety. Nadya, Clover and Adalina were not far behind scanning for more danger but all was quiet. They made it back to the monorail safely and Xavier laid her down on the empty space on the floor. The doors closed behind the and monorail finally departed from the station.

“I’ll go find a medic,” Clover said before running off.

“We need to stop the bleeding,” Nadya sounded panicked. Her friends were sitting around her but Leiale was not in the room.

She saw the Smokey’s face before her. He was holding her up by her injured shoulder. A sword was still lodged in it. She could vaguely feel a sense of elation as she looked into the man’s red face. He was angry yet she was too light-headed to feel any fear.

“That was quite a show you put on, little miss.” He yanked the sword out of her shoulder and Leiale cried out in alarm.

“Keep her still. She tear open the wound like this,” someone barked from the background but Leiale did not see them in the room.

“She’s bleeding everywhere.” The voices did not belong to the scene before her eyes. Leiale struggled to make sense of what was happening.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the man’s lackeys stumble and fall. Smokey noticed as well. He lifted her up even more so he could look straight into her eyes.

“What did you do?”

“The pirates demise,” she whispered weekly. “It isn’t perfect yet. It works quickly but not quick enough.”

“Leiale, what are you talking about?” Nadya frowned as she looked down at her. She vaguely noticed that was lying on the floor of the monorail not hanging from the grasp of the pirate.

“Pirate’s,” Leiale muttered. “We fought pirates. We killed them. It was called the pirate’s demise.”

“What’s she saying,” Adalina asked.

“Don’t ask me,” Nadya said. “Perhaps she’s just delirious.”

“They were pirates,” Leiale giggled, “and they wanted us dead.”


End file.
